Time Will Tell
by Shasta627
Summary: When a magical watch launches Elena ten years into the future, she discovers that Avalor has been turned into a land full of desolation and despair - and is ruled by none other than the Delgados. With the help of her now much older friends and family, Elena must find a way to return to the past and fix the timeline to prevent the Delgados from sabotaging Avalor ever again.
1. A Time to Help

_**A/N: I honestly never thought I would become so involved in this to fandom as to actually write fanfction for it, yet here am :) A special thanks to my super sensational sister**_ **Simba72598** _ **for encouraging me to post this story, and also thanks to pizzansunshine, lovelyrugbee, queendom-of-avalor, and a bunch of other amazing people over on tumblr who unknowingly helped my love and enthusiasm for this fandom and it's characters to grow. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy the first chapter! :)**_

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"Is everything alright, _princesa_? You've been unusually quiet."

The question brought Elena out her silent stupor. Ever since the council meeting earlier that afternoon, Elena had developed a pounding headache thanks to Naomi and Esteban. They had gotten into a large disagreement over the requirements one needed to have to own a shipping license, and by the end of the meeting their dispute still hadn't been solved, so nothing was accomplished.

"Oh, I'm fine," she finally responded to Skylar, who had been kind enough to offer her a ride around town after claiming the fresh air would be good for her head. "I was just thinking about the council meeting and wishing it could've ran more…smoothly, I guess." Elena held back a sigh. "Don't worry about it though, I'm sure it'll all be resolved by tomorrow."

"If you say so, _princesa._ Just remember, if you ever need anything, us jaquins are more than willing to help you," Skylar's voice said from below.

Elena reached down to gently pat Skylar on the head. "Thank you, I'll keep that in –" Elena's voice died off when she suddenly heard a scream coming from behind her. Immediately she turned around and felt panic grip her heart as she saw the terrible sight set before her eyes.

"The palace! It's – it's _on fire!_ " Skylar shouted with disbelief.

Elena could hardly believe it herself. How did that happen? _When_ did that happen?

But as soon as she opened her mouth to tell Skylar to take her to the burning building, she noticed the _whole town_ was suddenly on fire too. "What…?" Elena began to say, but then she realized Skylar had disappeared as well, and that she was on her feet again alone in the middle of Avalor, which was currently being burned to the ground.

Before Elena could barely process what was happening, the flames slowly began to close in on her, and she could find no way to escape. The heat and the smoke were starting to become unbearable, and her vision began to dim as the world seemed to tip sideways.

"No…somebody…help!" she tried to call, her voice barely above a whisper.

But then a cool hand gripped her shoulder, and Elena shivered despite the intense heat. She didn't even need to turn around to know who it was. It was the same person who had haunted her nightmares for months on end – the only person who Elena was truly frightened of.

"Look what's become of Avalor, dear princess," Shuriki purred in her ear. Elena tried her best to stay still and keep a deadpan expression, but the smoke was still burning her lungs and her eyes were stinging from the heat. "Look around, Elena. All of this has happened because of _you._ You weren't a good enough leader, and this is Avalor's fate because of it. Do you really wish to doom the whole city because of your lack of experience and judgment?" Shuriki circled around Elena like a vulture, a hungry gleam in her cold, green eyes.

Elena tried to speak, to shake her head, to do _anything_ , but found herself frozen. She squeezed her eyes shut, hoping it would all go away, but Shuriki was still speaking.

"You're unfit to be a leader. You care too much, and are always striving to do things the _right_ way. But to be a ruler you have to make hard decisions, even if they conflict your morals. Are you ready for that, princess?" Elena could hear the scorning in Shuriki's voice. "Or are you willing to put Avalor in harm's way, just to follow your heart?" She let out a mirthless laugh, and the sound kept growing, and growing, and growing, until it was echoing in Elena's head and it consumed her mind. Cold, sinister laughter was chilling her heart and taking over her entire being. There was no end – it was going on forever and ever and never stopping and –

" _Elena!_ "

Elena gasped and bolted upright, a hand flying to her heart to try and calm its furious beating. _It was only a dream!_ Elena felt she might cry from relief – if only Isabel wasn't intently peering at her from beside her bed.

"Elena, are you alright? I had to shout almost three times before you woke up," Isabel informed, an anxious expression on her face.

Elena quickly took a few calming breaths before giving her sister a reassuring smile. "I'm fine, Isa. I was just having…an intense dream. What are you doing up so early though?" she asked, deflecting the attention away from her disturbing nightmare.

Isabel continued to frown. "It's not _that_ early. And I came up to get you – we're supposed to go on an outing to the waterfall with Naomi, Mateo, and Gabe today, remember? We made the plans last night at your fiesta."

Elena's eyes widened as she remembered. "Oh! I can't believe I forgot!" Her nightmare was momentarily forgotten as she jumped out of bed in a sudden burst of energy. "I guess getting older really takes a toll on your memory."

A smile finally lit Isabel's face as she rolled her eyes. "You've been eighteen for one day, Elena, you're not losing your memory," she joked. "And you're not old."

"Well, technically I'm fifty-nine," Elena countered, "but thankfully I don't look it, or feel it, for that matter."

It was still strange for Elena to think that her, her grandparents, and sister were all forty-one years older than they looked, but last night at her _cumpleaños_ fiesta, she finally felt older than she seemed. Maybe it was just the realization that she had only had two more years before she became queen, or just the fact that turning eighteen was the symbol of adulthood in many other kingdoms, but she knew she was much older than the naïve girl she had been when she'd been gifted the amulet on her fifteenth birthday. In those long forty-one years, and even the two years since she had been freed, Elena knew she had gained wisdom and learned lessons not many people her age would've had the opportunity to experience, and she was certain she was on the right track to becoming a great leader.

 _But will you ever be great enough?_ a small voice asked within her head, and Elena couldn't tell if the voice belonged to her, or Shuriki. The thought made her shudder, so she hurriedly shut the voice out altogether. It was bad enough that the evil sorceress plagued her dreams, she didn't need to have her possibly cropping up in her waking moments either.

Deciding not to dwell on her frequent nightmares anymore, Elena quickly changed out of her nightclothes and put on her usual pink dress, and then followed Isabel as they left the room and descended downstairs, first stopping by the kitchens to pick up a picnic basket prepared by the cooks for their outing. Once they'd gotten the food, the two sisters raced back to the main entrance, where they were greeted by Naomi, Gabe, and Mateo, waiting at the edge of the staircase.

"You must've partied a little too hard last night, huh your highness?" Naomi asked teasingly, giving a mock bow.

"Yes, yes, I'm sorry I'm late," Elena apologized indifferently. "But I brought food, so all should be forgiven, right?"

"You are totally forgiven," Gabe declared as he eyed the picnic basket with longing. "What type of food did you bring?"

"You will find out at lunch," Elena said, deflecting his question with a wink.

The five friends exited the main hall and began their journey to the waterfall. Isabel spoke up and asked, "So, which way do we want to go? Through town or – "

"Let's go through town," Elena quickly interrupted her. "It's, uh, been a while since I checked up on the villagers," she explained, although it wasn't at all close to the real reason she wanted to take that route. She mainly just wanted to reassure herself that the town was decidedly _not_ on fire, but knew that to explain that desire would mean revealing her nightmares to her friends, and that was a topic she didn't want to discuss.

Thankfully the others seemed content with her answer and followed her as she hurried down the steps of the main entrance. She let out an inaudible sigh of relief as she saw that Avalor was its serene and pristine self, and then felt foolish for letting a bad dream affect her so much. It was just a nightmare – nothing more.

"Elena? Are you alright?" she heard Mateo ask quietly from beside her.

She gave him a soft smile. "I'm fine, but thanks for asking." Even though she'd denied him the truth, she couldn't help but feel grateful for his concern and touched that he even noticed she'd been distressed, plus the fact that he'd asked discreetly and not called the whole group's attention onto her.

He returned her smile and nodded, albeit hesitantly. Mateo somehow always seemed to know when something was wrong, and in truth she was grateful for his intuition. Maybe, if the nightmares didn't stop soon, she'd open up to him about it. She knew she could trust him with anything.

The five friends proceeded to wander throughout the town for the next half hour or so, talking to various people and admiring the beauty of Avaloran scenery. Elena always prided herself on knowing everyone in the town and what they did or where they worked, but found herself at a loss when she saw a small man nervously wandering down the street towards her and her friends, clutching the reins to an exhausted looking horse.

He was barely taller than Isabel, with close-cropped black hair and a handlebar mustache that nearly covered half of his face. She had never seen him before, and from the jittery way he was moving she assumed he must be either in a big hurry or utterly lost, or maybe both.

"Excuse me!" she called to the man. He looked up at her shout and gasped, recognition washing over his features.

"Princess Elena?" he asked in disbelief, and then before she could answer he began rapidly speaking again. "I can't believe I actually found you! I thought I'd have to send a message through the Royal Guard or something, but I can't believe my luck! Oh, your majesty, we desperately need your help – you and your royal wizard's help. We can't think of any other way besides magic to fix it, and there haven't been any wizards in our town since the days of Shuriki, seeing as it was too dangerous to practice magic anywhere _near_ Avalor, so I volunteered to find help here, and I've been traveling nonstop trying to find you, and –"

"Okay, slow down," Elena said, holding up her hands to get him to stop speaking. "How about you tell me your name, and then where you're from, alright?"

He gave a low bow and said, "Oh, yes, of course your most royal majesty, my apologies –"

"You can just call me Princess Elena, and there's no need for you to bow," she quickly interrupted again, and then motioned for him to stand up and proceed.

"Of course, I'm sorry your – uh, princess. My name is Miguel, and I'm from a small village called Aldea, just a few hours east of Avalor."

"Aldea? That's quite a ways away. I went there for part of my royal guard training," Gabe said, joining their conversation. Naomi, Mateo, and Isabel wandered over to listen too. "We practiced rock climbing over there because the village has so many cliffs and mountains."

"Yes, that is true!" said Miguel excitedly, pleased that Gabe knew where it was. Elena faintly remembered seeing the town on a map back in the palace, but she felt bad for never having actually visited the place itself.

"And why does Aldea need magic?" she prompted, making a mental note to study geography more.

"One of our buildings, the village Inn, collapsed in on itself – which was very unusual – but there are people trapped beneath the rubble and there's no way we can move the debris to get them out! Oh please, princess, is there any way you can help us?" Miguel pleaded desperately.

Elena was horrified. "People are still trapped in there? How did they survive?"

"There was only one family and the innkeeper inside at the time, and apparently they were all on the bottom floor and managed to avoid being crushed," Miguel began to explain. "We could hear them calling for help and knew they were still stuck inside, so I quickly left to find someone who could help, but we need magic help, so I came all the way here!"

"Well, you came to the right place! Of course we'll help, we'll come straight away," Elena assured him.

She quickly turned around to address Gabe. "Can you go back up to the palace and get the carriage ready?"

"Right away, princess," he said, and sprinted back up the path.

She turned back to find Miguel bowing to her and singing her thanks and praise, so she bit back a sigh and motioned to the palace, saying, "Let's go, we need to hurry if we want get there soon."

"Of course, thank you Princess. But what about my horse?" Miguel asked.

Elena took one look at the horse and could see it was in no shape for traveling such a long distance again. "We'll take him to the stables at the palace. Let him rest for a bit and then I'll have some guards bring him back to you in a few days."

Miguel went back to muttering thanks, but thankfully began to follow Elena and her friends as they took off after Gabe.

Once they arrived Elena was met by her grandparents, who were standing on the palace steps with identical looks of confusion of their faces.

"Elena, where are you going? I thought you and your friends were taking a picnic to the waterfall!" Luisa exclaimed, while Francisco pointed to Miguel and asked, "Who is this?"

" _Abuela, Abuelo,_ this is Miguel, and he's from the village of Aldea, which is where I'm going because they need my help," she quickly explained. "Oh, and Mateo's coming too, because Aldea needs his help as well."

Her grandparents were silent before Francisco spoke up and said, "Aldea's nearly half a days journey away – it'll be nearly nightfall by the time you arrive. Are you sure you can't wait until tomorrow morning?"

Elena shook her head determinedly. "A village needs my help, _abuelo._ I can't delay simply because of traveling inconveniences."

She watched as her grandfather sighed but slowly smiled all the same. "I had a feeling you were going to say something like that. Just be careful – and take Gabe with you. I'll feel slightly better knowing you have a Royal Guard to protect you."

"Mateo and I can protect ourselves, _abuelo_ ," Elena told him, but relented with a shrug. "Though I guess it couldn't hurt to have some backup." She quickly gave her grandparents a quick hug and turned back to her friends and Miguel waiting by the carriage.

"Alright, Gabe will drive, the rest of us will sit in the back." Mateo, Miguel, and Gabe nodded at her instructions and did as she said. Elena then turned to Naomi and Isabel, who were both looking rather put out.

"Are you sure we can't come too?" Isabel asked imploringly.

"Yeah, we can help y'know," Naomi added.

Elena sadly shook her head. "I know you guys are more than capable of helping in this type of situation, but the more people we have in the carriage the longer it will take for us to reach Aldea. Besides, I need you guys here to watch after the kingdom. Can you do that please?"

After a moment Naomi finally sighed. "Fine. But I expect full details on your guy's rescue expedition, okay?"

Elena gave her friend a quick hug. "Thanks for understanding," she said.

Elena looked down at Isabel, who still hadn't said anything. "Isa…?" Elena gently pressed.

"Can we go on our picnic once you guys get back?" Isabel asked. Elena quickly nodded, knowing how much her little sister had been looking forward to it. She felt guilty that it had been disrupted, but knew the trapped people of Aldea were more important at the moment. "I promise, Isa," Elena said, and then gave her sister a hug before waving goodbye to everyone and jumping into the carriage beside Miguel.

Gabe snapped the reins and off they went. The weather was perfect for a carriage ride, but none of the carriage's occupants were focused on the climate. All Elena could think about were those poor people trapped beneath the rubble, and silently urging the horses to run faster. She would've asked the jaquins to take them, but even though they were quicker than horses they also grew tired faster, and Elena felt a half a day's journey was too much for them.

The morning slowly grew into the afternoon, and Elena was extremely grateful that Mateo had thought to bring the picnic basket from this morning with them. The four of them ate the food and gave the extra to the horses, who were starting to tire after running all morning and most of the afternoon.

"We should be there in about an hour," Miguel informed later that afternoon, much to everyone's relief.

The sun was just beginning to set by the time Gabe steered the carriage into the small village. "Welcome to Aldea," he announced, albeit wearily.

The horses had barely come to a stop before Elena hopped out of the carriage and onto her feet. Miguel and Mateo hopped out a moment later.

Miguel quickly told Gabe of where a stable was so the horses could rest, and then he turned back to Elena and Mateo. "Follow me," he instructed, and led them down a few short roads until they were in the center of town. Aldea was definitely a small town, but also contained great beauty. The village was surrounded by several white, rocky cliffs and in the distance large purple mountains rose out of the horizon. It wasn't like anything they had in Avalor, and if she weren't in such a hurry Elena could've stared at the scenery for hours. Her attention was quickly diverted from the cliffs though as soon as they came upon the collapsed building. Several villagers were already surrounding the rubble, trying all they could to move the debris, and it was evident they had been there for several hours by their fatigued faces.

"Everyone! Help has arrived!" Miguel shouted, startling several of the villagers near them. Every eye turned to Elena and Mateo as they drew closer, and then a chorus of cheers broke out among the crowd.

"The Princess is here! I can't believe it…"

"Miguel actually did it!"

"A Royal Wizard can surely save them!"

Elena heard all of these comments and more as she and Mateo walked to the front of the collapsed Inn. Elena watched as Mateo circled the fallen building for a few minutes and scrutinized the debris lying around it.

"Miguel was right – this is strange…" he muttered, and continued to stare at the building until Elena gently nudged his shoulder.

"Uh, Mateo? We need to free the people…" she reminded.

"Oh, right! Sorry," he apologized sheepishly, and then cleared his throat. "Alright. Elena, you go to the other side of the Inn and use your new scepter power, and I'll stay here on this side and use my tamborita. Since the building's no longer connected to the foundation, we're going to lift the whole thing up so the people can escape – then we'll gently set it back down. Does that sound okay?"

Elena nodded, although she was a bit hesitant about using her scepter. It was barely a month ago that she'd discovered she could use it to make things float by saying 'hover,' but she still hadn't mastered the power as well as she would have liked.

Mateo's voice suddenly broke through her uncertain thoughts. "You can do it. I know you can," he encouraged quietly, and Elena was once again amazed at how he could read her like an open book.

Putting on a brave smile, Elena took his advice and winked, saying, "Let's free these people!"

She quickly went around to the back as Mateo said and awaited his cue. "On three!" she heard him shout. Elena took a deep breath and pointed her scepter at the building. "One…two…three!"

" _Hover_!" Elena shouted, gripping her scepter with all of her might. She could feel the power coursing through her and saw a blinding light erupt from the jewel of the scepter. She faintly heard Mateo yelling some spell from the other side of the building, and then suddenly the Inn begin to float off the ground. The people surrounding them began to gasp and cheer.

" _Hover_!" Elena yelled again, and the Inn lifted a few more feet off the ground. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Gabe and a few other brave souls crouched under the building, holding out their hands to help the people inside.

" _Hover_!" she repeated, but her arms were beginning to shake and her breathing was getting heavier. The Inn was now nearly seven feet off the ground – surely that was enough room for them to escape.

And apparently it was, for she heard Mateo calling to her, "Slowly set it down!" She lowered her scepter and felt the power slowly decrease until the building was set on the ground again. Elena finally dropped her arms and gave a large sigh of relief. She did it! Everyone was suddenly pressing in around her and hugging her and cheering, and although she felt drained Elena couldn't help but smile and celebrate with the villagers. Amongst the horde of people Elena managed to find Mateo, who also looked exhausted, but was smiling nonetheless. Elena wordlessly gave him a quick hug, and then turned around to find the people they had just helped save.

There were five of them, and all were covered in a thick layer of concrete dust and wore identical expressions of relief on their faces.

"Oh, thank you, thank you, your highness," the oldest woman said with deep gratitude. "You saved my family. Both of you did." Elena saw a man behind her along with two children who appeared to be twins, all nodding in agreement with the woman.

The weariness from using the scepter seemed to fade away as content filled Elena's heart. "We were more than happy to help," she answered with a smile.

The other man who had been trapped came up to her next, with tears of happiness in his eyes. "You saved us! I will forever be eternally grateful to the both of you!" he exclaimed. Elena quickly deduced this man must've been the Innkeeper.

"Like I said, we we're happy to help. I'm just glad the building didn't collapse on all of you."

The Innkeeper nodded, a frown marring his cheerful countenance. "It was very fortunate, but I still don't understand how it could've even collapsed in the first place. This Inn has been here years – before I was even born – and it's never showed sign of deterioration before..."

"It doesn't matter how it happened," an older man in the crowd said, stepping forward into sight. "You're alive, and that's all that matters. How about we have a party to celebrate – both for the successful rescue of our friends, and for the Princess and her friend's arrival!"

The man's proposal was met with more cheers from the crowd. Everyone besides the Innkeeper, the family, and Miguel immediately began bustling around, preparing for the impromptu party. They all seemed to know what to bring and where it was, giving Elena the notion that they must have several spontaneous parties quite often. The older man who had come up with the idea in the first place made his way over to Elena and the others.

The man was fairly tall and lean with dark skin and salt colored hair, and had several smile-lines under his eyes. Elena could already tell he was a kind man and liked him immediately.

He spoke to Miguel first, quietly thanking him for successfully bringing back help, and then turned to the Innkeeper and his family and informed them that arrangements had been made for them to stay at another woman's house. They all thanked the man and then left, presumably heading towards their new home for the time being.

"You can go home to, Miguel. I've got it from here," the man said, to which Miguel nodded and waved goodbye to Elena before leaving as well.

Finally the man turned to address Elena, Mateo, and Gabe. "I never got the chance to officially welcome you, but welcome to Aldea, and thank you again for all that you did." He smiled kindly at the three of them. "My name's Christian, and I'm the...leader of this town, I guess you could say, although it's not entirely official." He chuckled. "It's not often we have Avaloran visitors. The last time was nearly four years ago when a group of soldiers came and climbed the cliffs for a week. That caused quite the excitement here in town."

"That was my group!" Gabe exclaimed enthusiastically. "The experience was actually pretty fun, now that I think about it, but in the time being it was torture. You have to be really determined to scale those cliffs."

Christian patted Gabe on the shoulder. "Good to know, in case I ever desire a climb." He laughed again before motioning for them to follow him as he began walking through the town. "By the time the party's over it'll be too late for you three to travel back to Avalor, so you are all welcome to stay in my home. Normally all of our guests stay in the Inn but…" he trailed off and gestured behind him at the rubble. "You two boys will have to share a room, but hopefully you won't object too much," he said to Gabe and Mateo, who immediately assured him it would be fine. He continued on by saying, "The party will most likely start in an hour or so. We always celebrate things in the town square, so we'll head down there when it's time. Until then, I'm sure you would all like to rest and get refreshed. Ah, here we are," announced Christian, and gestured for them all to follow him inside the house they had stopped in front of.

The inside was similar to the outside: nice, neat, and cozy looking. "It's not a grand castle, but to me its home," Christian said, looking around proudly.

"It's very lovely," Elena said in all sincerity. She had sometimes fantasized about what life would be like for her if she weren't royal, and she decided that if the palace wasn't her home, she'd want a place like this.

Christian gave them a quick tour and showed them their rooms, to which Mateo and Gabe retreated to after the tour was finished. Elena, however, was too full of energy and excitement to relax.

"Is there anything I can help you with to prepare for the party?" Elena asked eagerly.

"Not necessarily. You can help if you wish though. Whenever we have parties I normally bake a dessert of some sort – do you have any preferences as to what I should make?"

Elena followed him into the kitchen as she thought. "Do you know how to make pan dulce?" she asked. It was her favorite food, and she was always in the mood to eat some.

Christian let out a loud bark of laughter. "But of course! It's a favorite among Aldea, and of mine too."

Elena smiled as she watched him gather up different ingredients from the various cupboards and shelves. His kitchen was surprisingly large, and from all the cookbooks and decorations adorning the walls she could tell he spent lots of time in there. One decoration was different from the others though, and it caught Elena's eye.

Hanging from a small hook on the wall was a long, bronze chain, or at least it appeared to be at first glance. When Elena drew closer she could see that there was something attached at the bottom of the chain, making it more of a necklace instead. The sphere attached to the bottom wasn't simply a sphere though; there were markings all along the edges, and the front had a small clasp that unhinged to reveal something underneath.

"What's under the clasp?" Elena asked, marveling at the beauty of the trinket.

Christian looked up from his work. "Oh, that? It's a clock, or at least I think it is. It doesn't look like any of the clocks I've seen – it has four hands – but it doesn't even seem to work."

Elena gently opened the sphere for herself so she could see what he was describing. There were only ten numerals surrounding the face, or at least she thought they were numerals (the marking were something she had never seen before), and it did have four hands as Christian said – all the same size, but none were moving.

"How odd…" Elena muttered, but found herself strangely drawn to the foreign object.

"The watch belonged to the people who owned this house before me. They had no clue what it did, but they said they thought it was magic or something. Maybe you could figure out how it works, Princess." Christian had come up behind her and gently took the watch from the hook, handing it to her.

"Here. You can have it," he said, pressing the cold metal into her hand.

Elena was stunned. "Oh, I didn't mean for you to give it to me, I was just looking at – "

"Princess Elena," Christian interrupted her. "Please, take it. Consider it as thanks for helping out our village. Besides, I'm sure you can get more use out of it than I can, even if you just use it as a necklace or something." He smiled at her and then returned to his cooking.

Elena fingered the chain and admired the alluring beauty of the object before finally smiling and slipping the chain over her head. "Thank you," she said gratefully.

Christian nodded at her thanks. "Now, weren't you supposed to help me make some pan dulce?"

The rest of the evening went by quickly as Elena and Christian prepared the treat for the party. Mateo and Gabe had come to help towards the end, and by the time the sweet bread was completely baked and frosted, all four of them were ready to leave.

Once they got down to the town square, Elena gasped with delight as she saw all of the brightly colored decorations ornamenting nearby houses and trees, with copious amounts of food and drinks.

"Welcome to an Aldean Celebration," Christian said, taking pleasure in their awed faces.

"Two fiestas two nights in a row," Gabe said as he snatched some food from a nearby table. "I could get used to this."

"Too bad the others couldn't be here though," Mateo remarked, and Elena had to agree with him. Maybe someday all of her family and friends could come back and they could enjoy the beautiful scenery and lovely people together.

"Oh, Princess Elena! What do you think?" a voice brought her out of her thoughts, and Elena turned to find Miguel beaming at her.

"I was just thinking that I need to come back another time when I can stay longer," Elena responded with a smile.

"I'm glad to hear it! C'mon, I want everyone to meet you."

For the next half an hour Elena found herself being introduced to nearly everyone in the whole town. She tried her best to remember all of their names, but knew she was bound to forget at least some of them. Finally after she had been dragged all over the party by a very enthusiastic Miguel, Elena retreated to the refreshment table to pour herself a glass of water. She spotted Mateo and Gabe standing off to the side conversing with a woman she had met only minutes before (was her name Mariana or Malinda?) but by the time she made her way over to them, the woman had wandered off to talk to someone else, saving Elena from the embarrassment of having to ask for her name again.

"Hey, there you are," Mateo said as soon as he saw her. "We've barely seen you all evening!"

"The life of a celebrity is pretty demanding," Gabe explained with a smirk.

"As if you would know," Elena responded, but before Gabe could come up with another retort Mateo interrupted them by pointing at the watch necklace she was wearing.

"Where'd you get that?" he asked, apparently noticing it only now.

"Christian gave it to me as a gift," she told them, holding it up so they could see. "It's supposed to be a clock, we think, but it's really unusual. He told me it might even be magical."

Mateo's eyes lit up. "Really?" he said at the same time Gabe asked, "Are you sure you should be wearing it then?"

Elena addressed Gabe first. "Why shouldn't I? It's not like magic's scary or anything."

"I don't know, Mateo can be _pretty_ scary," Gabe said teasingly.

"Don't mock the Royal Wizard," Mateo threatened in an even tone, but was still marveling at the watch. "It's…it's just so –"

"Beautiful? Mysterious? Captivating?" Elena suggested.

"All of the above," Mateo agreed.

Gabe glanced between the two of them and shook his head. "You two are strange. It's just a bunch of gears and metal – nothing special."

"Don't let Isa hear you say that," Elena warned.

Gabe simply sighed. "I'm going to get something to drink. You guys have fun…staring, I guess." He walked away leaving Mateo and Elena to themselves.

After a few seconds, Mateo finally pried his eyes away from the watch. "Elena, there's something I've been meaning to mention," he said slowly. "I noticed something earlier about the collapsed Inn that's a bit…alarming."

Elena frowned at him. "How so?"

"Well, you know how everyone's been saying that the collapse was so sudden and unusual?" He waited for Elena to nod before continuing. "I realized earlier that they were right. When I was looking at the building when we first arrived, I noticed that there was no possible way it could've collapsed on its own. The foundation looked sturdy, the material of the building was in perfect condition – the collapse shouldn't have happened at all. It was almost as if someone lifted the building off of its base – like we did – but then dropped it, causing the rest of the building to crack and crumble and trap the people inside."

The frown on Elena's face deepened the more he spoke. "So are you saying this wasn't an accident? That someone… _sabotaged_ the building?" she asked in disbelief.

Mateo nodded grimly. "And the only way that could've happened is by the same way we saved everyone: with magic," he added.

A silence fell between them as Elena tried to process what he had just said. Finally she managed to sputter, "But…who? And why?"

Mateo opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off when multiple gasps were heard followed by the unmistakable shout of, " _Elena!_ "

Elena whipped around. "That sounded like…" she trailed off. She was going to say Skylar, but it couldn't be him, could it?

Suddenly one of the townspeople shouted, "It's a jaquin! Three of them!" and then Skylar, Migs, and Luna all came into view, confirming her suspicion.

"What are they doing here?" she heard Mateo ask, but she was too busy making her way towards the jaquins to respond.

"Elena? Where are you?" Skylar called again, and Elena finally pushed through the crowd so she was standing right before him.

"Skylar, Luna, Migs, what're you doing here? Did you _fly_ here?" Elena asked in concern. Half a day of flying was a lot for a jaquin to handle.

"We had to," Migs spoke up, and Elena finally noticed how frazzled and terrified they looked. None of them were smiling, and Elena felt small shiver of dread run down her spine.

"What's wrong, what happened?" she asked, trying to keep her voice level. Mateo and Gabe were standing beside her now, and all of Aldea was listening in.

" _Princesa_ , I…I don't know how to tell you, but –" Skylar began, and then shook his head in defeat.

Luna spoke up instead. "Princess…only hours after you left, Avalor was invaded."

All the townspeople gasped in unison, and Elena felt like she had just been punched in the stomach.

"What…? How –" she tried to say, but her throat was closing up and she couldn't speak.

"We don't know how exactly," Migs answered slowly. "But…we do know who led the invasion." The way he was looking at Elena made her feel as though she should already know who it was too.

She suddenly gasped. _No,_ she thought. _That's not possible. It can't be her, she's supposed to be dead_ –

"Who?" Gabe asked fiercely, his hand on his sword as though the attacker was going to jump out at them at any moment.

Migs was the one who delivered the news.

" _Shuriki_."

And just like that, Elena's nightmare became her reality.


	2. A Time to Defend

_**A/N: First off, I didn't think it was possible for me to write an even longer chapter than the first one, but I guess I just like to prove myself wrong :) Second, sorry for the long wait, but THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone who reviewed this story - your guy's reviews seriously made my day! And lastly, I hope you enjoy the next chapter - it was fun to write :P**_

* * *

 _Shuriki. Shuriki. Shuriki._ The word vibrated against Elena's skull on repeat over and over again.

She barely heard Gabe and Mateo's gasps of shock. She barely heard the townspeople murmuring behind her. She could only hear the thudding of her heart as her brain accepted the fact just brought before her. _Stay calm,_ she tried to encourage herself. _You've defeated Shuriki before, you can do it again._

 _But at what cost?_ The small voice of doubt asked, which she promptly ignored.

Trying to act braver than she felt, Elena took a deep breath and managed to say, "We need to leave right now."

The jaquins nodded in agreement, although Elena figured they must've been completely worn out from the long journey out to Aldea. She hoped they'd have enough energy to fly back with people riding on them.

"We'll explain everything that happened while we fly," Migs told her as she, Mateo, and Gabe hurriedly climbed atop the colorful creatures. They were just about to take off when Elena heard her name yelled out from the crowd.

"Princess Elena!" she heard Christian shout again, before he came into view by her side. He gently yet firmly grasped her hand. "If there's anything we can do to help you and Avalor, princess, please let us know. We'll stand by you no matter what." Elena could see several of the townspeople behind him nodding at his words.

The sincerity of the people mixed with the worry and fear coursing through her heart brought tears to Elena's eyes, so she mutely nodded her thanks.

" _Buena suerte,_ Princess," he said softly, releasing her hand and stepping back into the crowd.

A second later the jaquins leapt into the air, and the town of Aldea became a tiny pinprick of light surrounded by darkness below. It hadn't even been a full hour since Elena was talking about how she wanted to bring her family back to the small village – and now she didn't even know if they were alive. Panic flared up inside her at the thought. She had already lost her parents to the evil witch, she couldn't lose anyone else.

"Migs, tell us what happened – tell us as much as you know," Elena said, not able to bear the unknown any longer.

Taking a deep breath, Migs began to speak. "It all started mid-afternoon, about three hours after you left. Everything was completely fine, but then the sky began to grow dark and the ground started to tremor, as though Avalor was having an earthquake. I was stationed by the entrance to Vallaestrella, since after the whole Marimonda incident we decided someone should be guarding it, but I left to go and discover what the disturbance was, and immediately came upon a large group of soldiers all dressed in green and black and carrying swords. I met up with Skylar and Luna and some other jaquins, and we didn't think they looked very threatening so we were about to swoop in and knock them off their feet – when we suddenly saw _her._ " He paused and gave a small shudder, clearly recalling the unpleasant memory. "It was quite a shock, seeing as everyone thought her to be dead, but there she was, as plain as day, riding in a gleaming black carriage flanked by all her swordsman. And then standing next to her were Victor and Carla Delgado –"

" _What?_ " Gabe burst out, interrupting Migs. "They're working _with_ Shuriki? I thought they were just thieves who liked to steal precious jewels!"

"They might've been jewel thieves at one point, but not anymore," Skylar added ominously.

"What does that mean?" Elena asked, bracing for the worst.

Skylar and Luna glanced at each other before turning to Migs, who must've been unanimously chosen to be the bearer of bad news.

"I'm still not sure why they're working with Shuriki, but it might have something to do with the fact that they were using… _tamboritas_ now," Migs said slowly.

"So they stole some tamboritas? How is that any worse than the jewels?" Gabe interrupted again.

Migs ignored Gabe and continued speaking. "There was something…wrong with them. And not as in mentally wrong, which they most likely are, but when I saw them and flew near them, something felt _off._ Skylar and Luna later on confirmed the feeling too." He paused, as though trying to gather his thoughts. "I didn't see them using the tamboritas, but I'm pretty sure the eerie feeling I felt radiating from them had something to do with magic."

A silence fell over the group when he finished speaking. Elena was trying to come up with a reasonable explanation for what the jaquins saw and felt, but then suddenly Mateo let out an unintelligible shout, startling the others around him.

"I can't believe this! How did I not see it before?" he berated himself, for reasons unknown to Elena and the rest.

Before anyone could ask what he was talking about, he explained himself by saying, "It all makes sense now. Carla and Victor must've made another deal with Shuriki, and their job was to find her a new wand so she'd have a way to channel her powers again. I read once in _The Codex Maru_ that in order for a witch or warlock to craft a wand, they need rare and precious items to form the core, and _jewels_ are most commonly used for that!"

Elena felt the pieces click together in her mind. "Carla and Victor weren't just stealing jewels for their own benefit, they've been working for Shuriki this whole time!" Her mind flashed back to when they tried to steal the palace jewels, and when she saw Victor holding a bright red ruby in Vallaestrella, and then just last year when they both tried to steal the Jewel of Maru. "So they decided to help her," she said, her disgust for them only growing deeper by the second. "But what does Shuriki have to offer them?"

"Did she somehow turn them into wizards or something?" Gabe speculated. "She can't actually give people magic powers, can she?"

Everyone turned to look at Mateo. Elena didn't think it was possible – people were either born with magic or had to learn it over a long period of time, they couldn't just instantly becomes wizards – but the look on Mateo's face began to make her think otherwise.

"There _is_ technically a way for people to have magic bestowed on them, but the type of magic required to do it….it's _dark_ magic. Only those born with powers can perform it, but _The Codex Maru_ warned people to never even _attempt_ any magic that dealt with the dark arts." The ominous tone of voice he used sent a shiver up Elena's spine.

"So, you think Shuriki used dark magic to turn them instantly into malvagos?" Luna asked nervously.

"That's what I'm guessing," Mateo sadly admitted. "And if that really is what happened, then Victor and Carla are probably even more corrupt than Shuriki now. Dark magic robs people of their sense of morals. They'll no longer be able to separate good from evil – the only thing they'll know is power, and will probably do anything they can to get it."

Elena felt the panic rising up again. If what Mateo was saying was true, and Victor and Carla really were malvagos now, then Avalor was in bigger peril than she thought.

"Why would Shuriki do that though?" Skylar asked incredulously, breaking the silence. "She was scared that Victor was going to overthrow her at one point, so she banished him, right? But now she's given him and his daughter actual magic? That's going to make them even more dangerous!"

"She probably has some twisted reason," Gabe responded, looking as angry and disgusted as Elena felt. "We'll have to figure out what that is when we stop them."

Elena was thankful he said ' _when_ we stop them' and not _if_. They all needed the positive encouragement.

"You never finished your story Migs," Mateo said suddenly, and Elena realized he was right. They'd all gotten sidetracked by Carla and Victor.

"Oh, I guess I didn't. Where was I?" Migs thought for a moment before Luna told him, "You just saw Shuriki and Delgados."

"Right, thank you. Anyway, I saw them and immediately knew this was too big of a threat for just us jaquins to take on, so Luna, Skylar, myself, and a few others that were with us immediately flew back to the palace to inform your family of what was going on," he said to Elena. "We found Chancellor Esteban right away, and he quickly informed us of how you and Mateo were gone – which was bad because you two are the only ones who could fight back against magic. So the chancellor sent us to Aldea to find you and bring you back, and here we are."

"It was awfully unfortunate that you guys left just as she attacked," Skylar remarked.

A sudden thought struck Elena. She turned to look at Mateo, who must've come to the same conclusion, for he was already staring at her with a grim expression on his face. "It wasn't a coincidence," he said bitterly to the others. "I'll bet you anything she or Victor and Carla sabotaged Aldea's Inn in order to get us away from Avalor, so she'd have the perfect opportunity to attack."

"And she knew we'd immediately go to help, so it was the perfect plan!" Gabe exclaimed, finally seeing the connections. "That's why everyone was saying the collapse was so unusual – because it was done by magic!"

"What a witch," Luna growled, clearly revolted. Everyone agreed.

After a few seconds Elena couldn't help but ask, "So you don't know _anything_ about our families, or if the city is safe?" She desperately wished that they'd just forgotten to mention that everyone was unhurt, or had found shelter. She needed some sort of hope to grasp onto.

But all three jaquins avoided her eyes and shook their heads sadly. "We left right as the invasion started," Skylar told her. "I'm sorry, _princesa,_ but we're just about as clueless as you."

Elena nodded miserably, her spirits sinking. _Just hang on,_ she thought to her family, plus everyone else in Avalor. _We're coming to help – just keep hanging on._

The next few hours of their journey were fairly silent. The jaquins had stopped talking in order to conserve their strength, and Elena, Mateo, and Gabe were all lost in their thoughts, trying to be strong and not worry. Elena could hear Mateo recalling different spells under his breath, and Gabe kept flexing and stretching out his limbs so he'd be ready to engage in combat. Elena couldn't think of anything else to do but stare at the stars and hope that they wouldn't be too late.

They'd been flying for almost four hours before the jaquins had to stop and rest. All three of them practically collapsed once they touched ground, and even though Elena understood that they needed a break, she couldn't help but think about the precious time they were losing.

"How about Mateo, Gabe, and I continue on foot, and you guys can catch up when you're rested," Elena suggested, trying to make out everyone's faces in the darkness.

"It's…to…dangerous," Migs panted. "The woods…are dark…anything…could get you."

"You're forgetting that Mateo and I have magic, and Gabe can win a duel against anybody. Please, we have to try to do something. You guys can catch up to us once you get your strength back," Elena pleaded with them.

The jaquins were too tired to protest anymore. "Alright, we'll catch up with you later," Skylar said breathlessly. "Just be safe."

Elena nodded. "You too."

The three of them set off, running through the trees as fast as they could. Elena was grateful to let out all the pent-up energy she'd accumulated during the flight – her nerves had made it nearly impossible to sit still while riding on Skylar's back. They were able to run for a straight thirty minutes before Elena finally slowed the pace down and stopped. She knew that Gabe could've probably ran for longer, but her initial burst of energy was beginning to fade, and she knew Mateo was most likely already dead on his feet.

"How far do you think…we are from Avalor?" Elena managed to ask between gasps for air.

Gabe looked to the stars. "Probably two hours if we were flying, but I'd say maybe three and a half on foot." He barely even sounded winded, and had Elena not been fearing for the lives of her entire kingdom she probably would've been reasonably annoyed.

"I guess we better start moving again," Elena said, and then turned to Mateo, who was still doubled over with his hands on his knees. "Is that okay with you, Mateo?"

He finally looked up at her sheepishly. "Yeah," he gasped. "Sorry I'm…slowing…you down."

"No need to apologize. Not everyone can be as fit as me," Gabe said teasingly, but his joke only made Mateo look more ashamed.

After resting for a few more minutes they set off again at a brisk walk. Just like when they were flying, none of them spoke, instead just letting the sounds of the night fill the silence between them. The three of them fell into a pattern as they traversed through the woods – they would walk for around fifteen minutes, and then run for ten, and then walk for fifteen again, and on and on. Elena found her eyes trained on the sky throughout their trek. She kept hoping that she'd see the familiar shapes of the jaquins soaring through the sky to find them, but all she saw were the twinkling of the stars.

For nearly three hours they walked and ran, slowly making their way towards Avalor. The sun was just beginning to rise when suddenly Gabe announced, "I recognize these parts – we're almost there!" That knowledge was enough to spur them all into a sprint, as they raced their way through the remainder of the forest on the edge of the kingdom.

"There's a clearing up that hill! Maybe we can see the city from there," Elena called out as she pointed to an overlook on a nearby incline. She quickly scrambled up the slope, Mateo and Gabe right behind her, and anxiously looked out at the city below.

The sight made Elena sick.

The beautiful city of Avalor, with its breathtaking scenery, clear blue skies, and peaceful seashores, was now unrecognizable. The sky had turned an ashy gray, and smoke was rising in large dark clouds from several fires blazing throughout the city. The Avaloran flag had been taken down at the palace and been replaced by a green and black one, and even though they were still far away, they could hear the cries and screams of people within the village.

Elena stared at the scene, shaking. _No, no, no,_ was all she could think as she began backing away from the clearing. This was worse than she'd imagined. Avalor was destroyed, everything was in chaos, and there was no way anyone could fix–

She felt a hand gently grip her shoulder, and turned to see Mateo staring at her, trying to give her a comforting smile despite the horror reflected in his eyes. She covered his hand with her own and squeezed it hard, understanding his unspoken message. _We're were here to fix this. Hope isn't lost as long as we are around_. The idea gave her little comfort, but it was enough to clear her head and get her to start coming up with a plan.

"That's my parent's house," Gabe suddenly said, and Elena turned to see him pointing at a smoking building towards the middle of town. "Their house – it's on fire!" he shouted, and began frantically trying to race back down the hill and onto the main path.

Elena took off right after him. "Gabe! _Gabe!_ " she yelled, and managed to grab onto his arm before he got too far ahead of her. "Gabe, stop! Look at me!" she pleaded, tugging on his arm with all of her might. Finally Gabe stopped and turned around, and Elena was shocked to see tears streaming from his eyes. She'd seen him cry a few times before, but it wasn't his tears that broke her heart – it was the distraught, helpless look etched into his face.

"Elena, my parents –" he protested, trying to weakly wretch his arm out of her grasp. "I need to see if they're okay."

"Gabe, please look at me," Elena gently instructed, and he hesitantly complied. "Please believe me when I say I know how you feel – we both do," she said as Mateo came to stand beside her. "And as much as I want to just race into town and find our families we can't. Shuriki's going to be expecting us, so we have to tread carefully. We need to come up with a plan – a plan to catch her off guard and give us the upper hand."

For a moment Elena thought Gabe was simply going to disregard her words and take off to find his parent's again, but instead he just swallowed and gave her a short nod. "You're right. Sorry," he murmured, shaking his head.

Elena gave his arm a comforting squeeze and released it. All three of them were a mess, but they needed to work together now more than ever. Avalor was depending on them, and they couldn't fail.

Taking a deep breath, Elena began to speak. "I think our best course of action right now is to find a way into the palace. Last time she took over, she spent the majority of her time in the throne room, so I think it's a safe bet that she'll be in there. Once I find her, I can confront her and somehow find a way to break her wand again. No wand, no power – right?"

Both Gabe and Mateo nodded, but their expressions were doubtful. "How are you going to get her wand though?" Mateo questioned.

"Well, I was thinking maybe I'd just charge in, blast her off her feet with my scepter, and quickly grab her wand while she regains her balance." She knew even as she said it that her plan was weak, but it was all she had for now.

"But what about the Delgados? They surely won't just stand by and watch," Gabe pointed out.

Elena nodded, having already taken that into consideration, and turned to Mateo. "That's where you come in. It's going to be your job to cause a large, magical distraction to lure them away from the palace. Shuriki will most likely hear the disturbance, think it's just the villagers or something, and send Victor and Carla off to do her dirty work. That'll hopefully give me a better shot at confronting her."

Mateo nodded, but was clearly apprehensive. "You think I can take on Victor and Carla alone?" he asked.

Elena offered him a brief smile and squeezed his hand. "I know you can. Just be confident and believe in yourself, okay?" Mateo nodded again, although still uneasily.

"What about me?" Gabe said. "What should I do?"

"You'll come with me, but instead of confronting Shuriki I want you to try to find ways to fortify the palace, and also to gather up everyone you can and start a rebellion. The more support we have, the easier it'll be to drive out any of Shuriki's followers." Once she finished speaking, Elena let out a deep breath and tried to quell the knot of nerves tightening in her stomach. "Any objections or alternative plans?" she asked. The boys both shook their heads.

"I think your plan is as good as we're going to get," Gabe declared, which didn't do much to ease her worries. She was half hoping one of them had come up with a more solid, more foolproof plan than her hastily constructed one, but she supposed they would just have to make do with it for now.

The sun was just beginning to rise above the mountains, but the smoke made it appear to be a large, red orb, casting an eerie glow over the city. Elena was just about to suggest that they begin making their way down to the city entrance when a large flock of birds took to the skies from the trees behind them, followed by the sound of voices moving their way.

All three of them immediately scrambled behind some nearby trees and bushes. Elena quickly tried to plan out how to defend them all if the voices belonged to allies of Shuriki, but she couldn't even tell where the voices were coming from. The more she listened, the more it sounded like the noise was coming from above, but that couldn't be possible, unless the voices belonged to –

" _Ouch!_ Skylar, you hit my wing! Stop flying so close," came the unmistakable voice of Luna, followed by the immediate retort from none other than Skylar. "It's not _my_ fault! You're the one who can never fly in a straight line."

Elena nearly cried from relief at the realization that it was only the jaquins, and not some other dangerous person or creature. She immediately crawled out from under the bush where she was hiding and saw them slowly flying above the clearing where she, Gabe, and Mateo had just been standing.

"Skylar! Luna! Migs!" she called, racing into the open and waving her arms so they'd see her.

" _Princesa!_ We actually found you!" Skylar cried happily as he and the other jaquins instantly spotted her, and landed just as Gabe and Mateo joined their little reunion.

"Just in time too," Gabe remarked, giving each of them an affectionate pat on the head.

"We thought for sure you'd be long gone by the time we got here, but I'm kinda glad you're still hanging out in the forest," Luna admitted. "We, uh, saw what happened to Avalor. It's not good."

A grim silence passed over the group momentarily as the horrible image of the annihilated city filled their minds. "We were just about to head into Avalor when you guys came, actually," Elena confessed a few seconds later. "But with your help now, maybe our plan will be easier." She quickly explained what they had come up with, and instructed the jaquins on how they could help. "Skylar, I'm going to have you fly Mateo to the middle of the city, where both of you will create a distraction. Migs and Luna, you'll fly Gabe and I directly to the palace, and then I want Luna to help Gabe start the rebellion and Migs to go around the city and start helping people put out some of the fires."

"Sounds like a successful plan," Skylar noted confidently, and Elena could only hope it was true.

After a brief review to make sure everyone understood what their job was, Elena, Mateo, and Gabe climbed onto the jaquins backs, ready to take action. " _Buena suerte,_ " Elena managed to say to Mateo and Skylar, her voice constricted with trepidation. Both of them wordlessly nodded back at her, and then they took off, quickly disappearing into the gray sky.

Mateo and Skylar had to carry out their part of the plan before the rest could begin theirs, so Elena and the others waited, ears straining for the cue they were expecting. Minutes later a large crash could be heard, followed by the sight of bright bursts of magic flashing into the air.

"That must be the sign," Gabe said as he and Luna soared up into the air, Elena and Migs right behind them. They smokey sky helped cover them as they soared above the city, listening to the shouts of Shuriki's soldiers as they all hurried to the source of the commotion. _Where did she even_ find _all these soldiers?_ Elena couldn't help but wonder, but didn't have time to dwell on it as they finally arrived to the palace. The entrance was flanked with guards as well, all sporting Shuriki's trademark colors, and with a start Elena realized she recognized some of the guards. Her heart sank at knowing that some of Avalor's most trusted soldiers had switched alliances.

"Princess, _go!_ I'll hold them off," Gabe cried as he quickly engaged in combat with the nearest guards protecting the entrance.

Elena did as he said and ran through the large gates, trying not to think about how much the odds were against Gabe. _Just defeat Shuriki, then everything will be fine,_ she said to herself as she raced inside the palace's main entrance. She knew exactly where the throne room was, but took several back hallways and secret shortcuts only she knew about, trying her best to avoid interaction with anyone else besides the witch.

In only a few short minutes she had arrived. Elena steeled herself, taking a deep breath and gripping her scepter with all her might. She grabbed the door handle with her free hand and threw it open with a loud _bang!_

"Shuriki!" Elena yelled with rage, and thrust her scepter out to point it –

– at an empty chair.

The room was completely empty, filled with nothing except dead silence and a throne at the far end of the room. Elena cautiously made her way towards the large chair, scanning the area as though Shuriki was going to come flying out of nowhere, but the room still remained empty. Her heart dropped as she realized what this meant – either Shuriki went to deal with Mateo's distraction herself, or she was in one of the other hundreds of rooms in the palace.

 _Don't give up, not yet,_ Elena instructed herself, so she spun on her heals and raced out of the throne room and into the hall, determined to find Shuriki and end this. She had barely taken three steps though before she ran into someone, but it wasn't the person she wanted to see.

"Carla?" Elena said in surprise as she saw the young girl round the corner of the hallway. She looked much different than what Elena remembered; she was wearing a new red, yellow, and black dress, had shadows under her eyes (probably from staying up most of the night invading the city) and there was something else…off about her. Elena felt her stomach clench and realized she must be feeling the dark magic radiate off of her, just as the jaquins had described.

"There you are. I've been searching for you," Carla exclaimed, a maniacal gleam in her eyes.

Elena held out her scepter as Carla began to walk closer. "Where's Shuriki?" she demanded.

Carla waved a hand through the air carelessly. "Around," she said with an air of nonchalance. "You honestly didn't think we'd let you just walk in and take back Avalor, did you?" She reached behind her and pulled out a tamborita, twirling it idly in her hands. "Your little diversion in the town square was cute, but it didn't fool us. We have a plan of our own, you see, and so far everything has been going perfectly."

Elena knew she should run, find Shuriki, and not get distracted by Carla and her little charade, but she _was_ talking an awful lot. Maybe if she kept speaking she would accidently spill some valuable information.

"And how do you know our plan isn't going just as well?" Elena bluffed, her voice deceivingly confident.

"Because," Carla smirked. "I have a feeling your plan will fail once you're _dead_." She suddenly swung her tamborita around and whacked it, shouting an unintelligible spell at Elena.

Elena dived to the side and managed to roll out of the way just in time. " _Blaze!_ " she cried, pointing her scepter at Carla in return, but she was just as quick to evade the spell as Elena had been.

Before Carla had the time to shoot at her again, Elena jumped to her feet and ran, deciding to try to evade Carla rather than engage her. She managed to dodge another spell shot at her from the tamborita before sprinting down a nearby corridor, taking as many twists and turns as she could before finally stopping in one of the palace guest rooms, trying to calm her racing heart.

Something had _definitely_ changed since the last time Elena had interacted with Carla. Sure, she had always been manipulative and cunning, but never so _bloodthirsty_. Mateo's words echoed through Elena's head, " _they'll no longer be able to separate good from evil – the only thing they'll know is power, and will probably do anything they can to get it,"_ and she couldn't help but pity the Delgado's and the choice they made. Maybe – if Carla wasn't so set on killing her – she could try and reason with the girl, but at the time being that didn't seem like the best course of action to take.

"There she is! Grab her!" The sudden shout jolted Elena out of her brief respite as she saw some of Shuriki's guards begin to run towards her. Once again Elena took off running, realizing she needed to come up with another plan before her luck – and energy – ran out.

Her goal was to find Shuriki, but by now there was no doubt that Shuriki already knew about her and her friends' presence in Avalor, which threw a wrench in her whole plan. Elena had been counting on the element of surprise, but since that was now gone, what could she do? Should she try to find Gabe, Mateo, and the jaquins, and tell them to retreat? Should she keep trying to find Shuriki and just hope that her scepter would be able to counter a wands power? And what about her family, along with Gabe and Mateo's? Should they just forget Shuriki and try to save them first?

Elena's head began to pound at all the questions rapidly coursing through her mind. Knowing she didn't have time to contemplate each option thoroughly, Elena used her heart and selected the last option – she was going to save her, Gabe, and Mateo's family, and all the other people in Avalor that she could. She knew she had told Gabe earlier that their main focus was defeating Shuriki first, but things had changed, so now their plan was changing to.

It wasn't hard for Elena to quickly deduce that her family and probably some other villagers were being held prisoner in the dungeons – it was just the act of getting down there without being seen that was difficult. The dungeons had never been used until Shuriki took over the first time, and Elena had only been down there a few times herself, mainly just to see what they looked like. They weren't entirely miserable and awful like in stories, but they weren't exactly a luxury either.

Elena set off and got about halfway there when she heard voices and footsteps coming her way, so she slipped into a nearby supply closet, heart once again pounding wildly as she recognized the voice as Carla's.

"How could you lose her?!" she said in a reprimanding tone. "Are _any_ of you actually good at your job?"

Elena heard a more timid voice softly respond. "The palace is big, and there's just so many hallways and hiding places, it's hard to chase someone –"

"Save the excuse. Don't you realize how important it is that I find her? Shuriki gave my _papá_ and I the job to eliminate her while she took care of the wizard kid, but since _papá_ is dealing with that guard outside, it's up to me to get the job done. And it's _imperative_ that I succeed, or else I don't earn her trust – got it?"

Elena could only imagine the guards cowering before Carla, probably nodding along to every word she said.

"Good. _Now find her_!" ordered Carla, and her command was followed by the sound of several people racing away. Carla gave a huff of annoyance, and then her footsteps faded away as well.

Elena sat frozen, still barely daring to breath. Shuriki had gone after Mateo _?_ And Victor was outside "dealing with" Gabe? Elena found herself fearing for their lives. She thought she had known Shuriki and how her mind worked – thought she had known what course of action the witch would take, but apparently she was wrong. Very wrong.

 _Just keep moving forward,_ she told herself for what felt like the millionth time that day, and tried to block out all of her other worries for the moment. She needed to focus on one thing at a time – only then would she be able to get anything accomplished. Elena eased the door to the closet open and glanced around, satisfied that the coast was clear. She slipped out and began making her way down to the dungeons again, moving as quickly yet cautiously as she could.

Only a minute later Elena found herself at the entrance to the stairway leading down to the cells, and could scarcely believe her good luck at not being seen when she heard a voice say from behind, "I figured you'd come and try to save your family. Looks like I was right."

Elena was almost absolutely certain the universe must've been conspiring against her. "Carla, please don't do this," Elena implored, slowly turning around to face her. She must've been so focused on getting to the dungeons she didn't even notice how Carla had been standing in the shadows, just a few feet away.

"Yes, I do have to do this, actually," Carla responded, once again using that nonchalant tone that was beginning to unnerve Elena.

"Don't let Shuriki manipulate you, Carla. You're stronger than this – don't let her dark magic win you over," Elena tried reasoning again, but it was becoming apparent that Carla had no interest in anything but completing her task.

"You're right, I am stronger than this, and more powerful too." Her eyes gleamed with delight. "Oh, and don't worry, Shuriki won't be controlling me for long."

Before Elena could even begin to process what that statement was supposed to mean, Carla whipped out her tamborita and shouted at Elena, " _Muldago_!"

The spell hit Elena in the arm and sent her tumbling to the ground. With a groan she raised herself off the floor and managed to grab her scepter, shouting a spell of her own. " _Blaze_!" she cried, and was successful in knocking Carla off balance too. Elena quickly rose to her feet and took off running, trying to put more space between her and the young malvago.

Unfortunately Carla was relentless, and managed to be just a few steps behind Elena no matter how many twist and turns she took. Elena finally decided that she couldn't keep running in circles inside the palace anymore, and would need help in order to get Carla off her tail. She needed to go outside so she could lose her more easily, and maybe even find Mateo or Gabe and have them help too.

 _If they're still alive._ She quickly pushed down the morbid thought and turned into the main entrance hall.

"I'm getting tired of playing tag, Elena," Carla growled from behind her and casted another spell. Elena glanced over her shoulder and dived to the right just as the spell passed over her head. When she regained her balance she saw that Carla had caught finally up, and was now the only thing standing between her and the door leading outside.

"I'm just as tired of this as you are," Elena agreed dryly, and weakly shot another blast from her scepter at her. The scepter was draining her energy, and she needed to get away _now_ if she wanted to survive.

Carla sidestepped the spell easily and then smirked. "Getting tired? How about I put you out of your misery?" She raised her tamborita and hit it with a yell. " _Rejonzala!_ "

Elena ducked, but nothing happened. She took advantage of Carla's spell mispronunciation and said, " _Hover!_ " Her scepter began to float the tamborita out of Carla's grasp.

"No!" Carla screamed and clung tighter to her tamborita. With effort she was able to point it at Elena again. " _Rejozaba! Relajanza! REJOLAZA!"_ It was obvious she couldn't remember the spell she was trying to cast, but her last pronunciation must've been correct, for the tamborita suddenly lit up, and a large burst of light went flying at Elena, and hit her square in the chest before she could even move.

All Elena could see was white, feeling the world tip sideways as she flew backwards from the force of the blast. It seemed to take an excruciatingly long time before she felt the ground beneath her again, but once she hit the floor face first with a loud _thud,_ she found she couldn't move, or at least didn't want to. Her stomach was spinning and her head was hammering, and she felt like she'd be sick if she even tried to open her eyes.

But just as quickly as all of these symptoms came, they vanished.

The only thing Elena could feel was a cold metal being pressed uncomfortably into her chest. Elena cautiously sat up, and realized it was the necklace Christian had given to her merely hours ago. It still seemed in perfect condition, despite everything that she'd been through that night. She quickly tucked the necklace inside the front of her dress again before standing and turning to face Carla, but the girl was…gone.

Elena spun around in a circle, trying to make sense of where the young malvago went, but she had just seemingly vanished. _Did the spell backfire?_ Elena wondered, but then saw that Carla wasn't the only thing that changed. The whole entrance of the palace was…different. There was a long red, yellow, and black flag hanging on the wall directly in front of the large entrance doors, and all the decorations had been removed or replaced by large, garish statues and golden trinkets.

 _Did I get knocked out or something?_ Elena thought, horrified. _But then why didn't Carla kill me?_

It was only then that she noticed something else was different as well – there was silence. No screams and cries could be heard from the city anymore, and even the air smelt cleaner, with no traces of smoke or ash.

Elena no longer cared about the fact that Carla was missing. She ran out the front door and immediately looked out upon the city. It was calm and serene, with only a few people milling about as the sun slowly rose, creating a beautiful pink and yellow sunrise.

 _Where are Gabe and all the guards? Why is everything so calm? Where's Mateo and Shuriki?_ Her confusion only mounted as more questions raced through her head. She ran through the main gates and into town, stopping the first man she saw walking by.

"Excuse me, _señor!_ " Elena called, trying to keep her voice low in case Shuriki's guards were somewhere nearby. The man turned to her, surprised. He looked to be in his early thirties and was fairly tall, yet stocky, with unkempt brown hair and dark blue eyes. Elena frowned, never having seen him anywhere in Avalor before.

" _Si, señorita?_ How can I help you?" he responded pleasantly, as if everything was completely normal and fine.

"What – what happened here?" she asked, gesturing to all the fixed buildings and seemingly peaceful atmosphere.

The man blinked at her, a confused frown forming on his face. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, where did all the smoke go? Where's Shuriki? And why is everyone so…calm? Avalor was just _invaded!_ And why is the palace flying a different flag? Those aren't Shuriki's colors."

The man was now peering at her as though she was ill. "Miss…Shuriki died five years ago. Surely you knew that."

Elena gaped at him, now wondering if _he_ was ill. "She just invaded _yesterday!_ She's not dead! She –"

Elena stopped speaking as she saw the man shaking his head, his friendly manner having vanished. He now stared at her suspiciously and asked, "I'm sorry miss, but who are you? You've obviously been living under a rock for quite a while."

He didn't know who she was? Normally Elena wasn't one to flaunt her fame, but she found it pretty hard to believe that this man didn't recognize the crown princess of Avalor, even if he was new here.

"I'm crown Princess Elena Castillo Flores of Avalor," she answered, successfully keeping her voice free from the irritation she was beginning to feel. "Now what do you mean I've been living under a rock? I assure you I know everything that happened here during the last forty…" she trailed off when she saw the man's face morph into an expression of fear. "What is it?" she asked quickly.

"Listen, whoever you are, a word of advice: I wouldn't go around telling people you're 'Princess Elena,' alright? If the queen found out..." he shuddered.

"But – but why not? That's who I am, and – "

"Please, miss, you're a good actor, but I know you're not the princess, so it would be best if you just dropped the act before we both get in trouble, alright?"

Elena frowned. "Why do you just assume I'm not who I say I am?" she couldn't help but ask.

"Because," the man replied. "Princess Elena died ten years ago."


	3. A Time for Answers

**_A/N: Contrary to what people might believe, I am in fact not dead, and I have not abandoned this story. I just took a long hiatus is all XD And to make up for it, this chapter is almost twice as long as the previous one, so hopefully it will tide people over for a little while. Thank you though to everyone who's encouraged me to keep writing or have left reviews on this story - y'all are amazing and I appreciate it so much! Also if you ever want to talk to me about my story, EoA or anything really, you can find me on tumblr as shasta627 (I promise I'm not too strange) :)_**

* * *

Elena had the sudden urge to start laughing despite the humorless situation. _Does he seriously think I'm dead?_ she couldn't help but wonder, giving him an incredulous look. "Uh, that's obviously untrue. I'm right here." She gestured to herself as though that should be proof enough. "People thought I was dead for forty one years, but I took back the throne two years ago, remember…?"

The man was vigorously shaking his head again. "Princess Elena died ten years ago when Shuriki took over for the second time, but due to her, uh, _mysterious_ death five years ago, the Delgado's have been ruling ever since."

Elena took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying valiantly to retain her frustration. She didn't have time for debating nonsense when the fate of Avalor was at stake. She looked up a moment later and decided to try once more to see if the man could give her any answers. "Did you happen to see any of the palace guards out here recently? Or more particularly, a guard by the name of Gabe Nuñez?" She had left Gabe nearly right where her and the man were standing now, and he was supposed to be fighting some of the other guards, but as Elena looked around she could see no sign of even a small scuffle, much less a full blown fight.

The man simply shook his head, still eyeing her warily. "Never heard of him," he stated shortly. "I try to avoid the palace guards most of the time, and you should too, especially if you're going to be spouting all this princess rubbish…"

"It's not rubbish!" Elena protested, starting to become desperate. Nothing was adding up anymore – everything was too calm, nothing was where it was supposed to be, and everyone seemed to think she didn't even exist. "Please _señor,_ something is seriously wrong here, and nothing's making sense. Where's the rest of the royal family? How in the world did the Delgado's come to power? Where's the royal wizard, Mateo de Alva? I can't have been knocked out for _too_ long, so why is everything suddenly so different?"

Her carefully built up façade was crumbling. All through the night she had managed to stay strong and not panic, but this – this was becoming too much. Her head was pounding hard as the multiple questions and uncertainties flew through her brain, and Elena could feel the telltale burn behind her eyes which she knew would soon lead to tears. _No, Elena, you can hold it together! Just stay calm, you'll figure this out – don't give up!_ she mentally shouted at herself, putting as much force and energy as she could into those silent words. Taking a deep breath, she looked up at the man again to see his face had morphed from skepticism into something akin to pity.

"Miss, you said you got knocked out…does your head hurt? Did you fall down and hit it just recently?" he questioned, his eyes scanning her face for a sign of visible injury.

"Well, yes, it does, and I did, but I don't have a head injury if that's what you're implying," Elena assured him. "At least, I think," she then added, remembering the spell that had hit her and caused the fall in the first place. Did it somehow affect her brain after all? The thought disconcerted Elena, but after a moment she quickly dismissed the possibility. She was _not_ going insane.

"My wife's a doctor – you should come with me to my house and she can help you fix this…identity problem you have, before you get into serious trouble," the man said, gently placing a hand on her shoulder and steering her towards the middle of town.

"It's not a..." Elena began to argue, but let the matter drop with a sigh. Gabe obviously wasn't here anymore, and she had a feeling she wouldn't find anyone else where she'd left them either. Maybe the man's wife could give her more answers. She wished she still had her scepter with her, in case Shuriki's guards showed up, but she must've dropped it when Carla hit her with the spell, and she didn't remember seeing it lying around anywhere when she got up.

As they walked through town, Elena scanned the faces of the few people they saw, but realized with uneasiness that none looked familiar to her. A sudden thought occurred to her, and she glanced back at the man who was as much a stranger as everyone else she'd seen. "I'm afraid I don't know who you are," she stated, her curiosity overtaking her fear for a moment. "I've never seen you around Avalor before – are you new here?"

The man hesitated for a second, as though unsure about revealing his identity, but then began to speak. "My name is Emilio, Emilio Alatorre. I moved here about seven years ago with my wife, Laura, and my two daughters," the man, Emilio, informed her, and then frowned. "I don't believe I've ever seen you around Avalor either. You must be pretty lost."

Elena wanted to protest that she'd lived in Avalor her whole life and was _not_ lost, but became distracted as they maneuvered their way through town. It looked _almost_ the same as she remembered, yet there was something still off. Some of the buildings were taller or different colored, and there were new businesses and shops that she never remembered being there before.

 _How is this even possible?_ Elena wondered, and then felt her heart jolt as she realized they had walked right through the middle of town where Mateo and Skylar should've been, supposedly battling Shuriki. It was evident that neither of them were no longer there.

"How – how long ago did you say…?" Elena tried to speak, but found that her throat had gone unusually dry.

"Sorry? I didn't catch that," Emilio responded, still guiding her through town with his hand on her shoulder. She noticed he looked a bit apprehensive, but was too preoccupied with her other disorderly thoughts to make any note of his cautious behavior.

"How long ago," she tried again, "did you say that Shuriki invaded?"

"Ten years," he answered instantly. "The same night that…" he trailed off and gave her a wary glance, but Elena could fill in the blank herself. _The same night everyone believed I died,_ she thought sullenly.

But how could ten years pass so suddenly like that, without her having experienced any of it? Time travel was a concept that belonged in one of Isa's science-fiction novels, not in real life.

 _Isabel._ The sudden thought of her sister and family brought a whole new wave of worries crashing down on her, temporarily erasing all theories of time travel from her mind. "The royal family!" Elena cried, her heart suddenly racing. "What…what happened to them?" she asked, bracing herself for the worst answer she could possibly imagine.

Emilio once again glanced around them before turning back to address her, his eyes flashing with fright despite the small scowl twisting his lips. "Please, can't you keep your voice down a little? The royal guards already have a vendetta against me, and hearing you talk about the royal family and such will only add fuel to the fire."

Elena glanced around for herself and saw practically no one on the street they were on, which was expected seeing as the sun had barely risen. "But...why?" she asked, lowering her voice to match his whispered volume.

"Why do the guards not like me, or why can't you talk about the royal family?"

Elena thought for a second before answering, "Both."

Emilio sighed, an uneasy expression crossing his features. "Listen, uh, _Elena_ , how about we save all the talking until we get back to my house. Hopefully things will make more sense after we've seen my wife."

"I might've fallen down but I'm not crazy, y'know," Elena muttered quietly, but Emilio either didn't hear her or just chose not to respond. They continued to walk in silence, and even though Elena was bursting with questions and thought of a new one almost every step, she kept quiet and adhered to Emilio's request.

"We turn here," Emilio instructed a minute later, and led Elena up a short stone path to a little house right on the edge of town. It was quaint and had a cheerful exterior, but the unfamiliarity of it all did nothing to quell Elena's growing uneasiness.

"The kids are probably still asleep, so try not to wake them if you can," Emilio advised, before pulling a key from his pocket and unlocking the door. The house was still fairly dark, with a single light coming from a room adjacent to the entrance hallway.

Just as they entered, a feminine voice suddenly called, "You're home late,"and Elena saw a slender, dark haired woman emerge from the lighted room. "How did the meeting go with _La Somb_ –"

Her voice faltered once her deep brown eyes met Elena's. Elena watched as the woman, most evidently Emilio's wife Laura, turned to look at her husband with a startled expression masking her delicate features. "Who's this?" she asked, and Elena couldn't help but note the slight sound of apprehension in her voice.

"Laura, this is, uh, Elena. I met up with her and she needs your help," Emilio explained hastily. "She has a bit of a… _condition_."

Elena bristled at his words, but still remained quiet, silently observing the strange behavior of the couple.

"Did you meet her at…?" Laura began, but then resorted to hand gestures rather than completing the sentence.

"No, I met her walking home from there," Emilio admitted, clearly understanding her unspoken words.

A silence passed as Laura's gaze passed between her husband and Elena. Finally, after a long moment, she gave Elena a polite smile and said, "Would you excuse us for a second? Please, feel free to take a seat in the kitchen, we'll only be a moment." She gestured to the lighted room where she had just come from.

Elena nodded and slowly walked into the kitchen. It was cozy and warm, with several pictures of the Alatorre family adorning the walls and jars of different ingredients set out on the counter. Elena was just about to pull out a chair to sit down when she heard Emilio and Laura begin to furiously debate back in the hallway entrance. Very slowly, Elena silently tip-toed her way across the kitchen floor and pressed her ear up against the wall between the kitchen and the entranceway, her ears straining to hear what they said. She knew they wanted privacy, but she needed to find answers too, and at the moment eavesdropping seemed like the only way of acquiring them.

"Listen," she heard Emilio whisper in a low voice, "she's not right in the head. She thinks she's Princess Elena, and was shouting about the royal family loud enough for all the town to hear."

"Then why'd you bring her _here?!_ " Laura hissed in exasperation.

"I couldn't just leave her there for the guards to find! Imagine what the Delgado's would've done to her," Emilio replied, sounding desperate. "She's genuinely confused, Laura. I really don't think she's a spy, if that's what you're worried about."

"You never know what the Delgado's will come up with. You've been on their radar far too long for my liking," Laura responded in a despondent tone.

"It's for a good cause," Emilio assured, his voice suddenly affectionate. "Don't forget what we're fighting for."

A silence passed, then Laura spoke. "I'll look her over, but this whole situation still seems… _peculiar_ to me. How does a girl just appear out of thin air and claim to be the deceased Princess of Avalor, with no memory of her death or the past ten years?"

"Like I said, she's confused, and she needs help. She's much safer with us than in the hands of the royals."

Elena heard a deep sigh. "You have too good of a heart, _mi amor_ ," Laura whispered tenderly.

Another silence passed, and Elena backed away from the wall, having heard all she wanted to. She quickly hurried to the opposite side of the room and pretended to admire the family pictures on the wall, her mind wiring as she waited for the couple to return.

A moment later the two of them entered the kitchen. "Elena," Laura greeted, her smile much more genuine than before. "Thank you for waiting. Why don't you have a seat, and I'll get us all some breakfast."

Elena gave the woman a nod and mustered a smile in return. "Thank you." She sat down and watched as Laura began to quickly whip up a batch of fresh _magdalenas,_ and realized as her stomach growled loudly that she was much hungrier than she thought.

"So, Elena," Laura spoke while she worked, regarding Elena with a thoughtful expression. "When you move or look at a bright light, do you feel a throbbing between your eyes, or a dull ache near your temples?" she questioned lightly.

Elena shook her head, and even looked straight at the kitchen light to prove her point. "My head's completely fine," she stated, starting to feel exasperated. "I don't have a memory or identity problem – I really am Elena Castillo Flores!"

Laura was silent as her eyes searched Elena's face. "I see," was as she mumbled, and returned to her task at hand. "And you have no memory of the past ten years, when you supposedly died?"

"No, and I'm not dead!" Elena nearly shouted in frustration, but then remembered what Emilio said about his children still sleeping and managed to keep her voice level.

"Out of all the things we're told about the ex-royal family, the death of Princess Elena is one fact everyone knows," Emilio remarked, his definite tone unnerving her.

She was about to make another retort about how she was very much alive and well when his words finally caught up to her, and she paused. "What do you mean, 'out of all the things you're told'?"

Emilio grimaced slightly. "Well, after Shuriki took over, apparently she destroyed everything in the palace that had to do with the old royals and forbade anyone to speak about or mention them. When she died and the Delgado's took reign, they kept the same laws in place – made them harsher even – so now no one really knows or talks about what happened to them. We've never even _seen_ a picture of the old royals." He sighed and scratched his chin. "It's kind of a tabooed topic here, if you couldn't already tell."

"That's why you were so frightened when I mentioned them earlier in the streets," Elena thought aloud, but still couldn't shake the feeling of dread crawling down her spine. "So does that mean…no one knows what happened to them?"

Emilio thought for a moment, but it was Laura who answered. "We've heard from people around town that the family had been exiled to an island somewhere on the far side of the sea, but I think the youngest princess might still be in the palace somewhere."

Elena gripped the table hard enough to dent it. " _Isabel's still in the palace?"_ she exclaimed with a gasp.

Laura looked startled. "I'm – I'm not entirely sure, but that's what I heard. If she is there, no one ever sees her. It might just be a rumor."

Rumor or not, it still gave hope to Elena. "And you said you haven't heard about a Gabe Nuñez?"

Both Laura and Emilio shook their heads 'no.'

"What about a Naomi Turner?" she asked eagerly.

Once again, their answers were 'no.' Elena tried not to feel too discouraged, and instead hopefully asked, "And what about the royal wizard, Mateo de Alva?"

"Oh," Emilio spoke up. "I've heard of him. The grandson of the famous Alacazar, right?"

"Yes!" Elena joyfully cried, feeling her spirits lift. Mateo could definitely help her figure out the mess she was in! "Where is he? Do you know him?"

Emilio let out a short cough, and glanced awkwardly at Laura before staring down at the table. "Uh, he's dead."

Time froze as Elena registered his words. "He's…dead?" she repeated, the jubilant smile rapidly slipping off her face. _Dead? Mateo dead?_ She couldn't believe it. It had to be some sort of mistake. She glanced at Emilio and Laura, almost as though expecting them to start laughing and say, " _Just kidding!_ " but their faces were downcast as they watched her, and their eyes questioning, as if wondering how she was going to react.

Breathing was starting to become a difficult task as the room seemed to tilt, and Elena was finding it challenging to think anything else beside the words ' _he's dead.'_

"How? When?" she murmured a moment later, grasping the table with a vice-like grip again, this time out of horror rather than excitement.

"Probably a few months after the princess died. It was during a duel with the Delgado's, I think. It was before we moved here, but that's what we heard," Emilio disclosed, watching her warily as though she was about to set off like a firework.

Elena was too distressed to even care that they were still referring to her as though she was dead. This was just the type of news she had been dreading and trying to prepare herself for, yet the pain that it brought was more than she could bear. Mateo had been one of her best friends, if not _the_ best, and understood her better than anyone else at times. Elena couldn't help thinking of his bright smile, or the way his hazel eyes always lit up when he talked about magic, or how he'd nervously rub the back of his neck when he was bashful, or the ridiculous jokes and puns he always told only because he knew she'd laugh at them. Thoughts of him flooded her mind just as her eyes flooded with tears. Hearing that Mateo was dead was the final straw for Elena; her walls finally crumpled and she felt the emotional weight of everything she had pushed aside come crashing back down onto her weary shoulders, which now shook in silent sobs as she tried to embrace all the emotions at once.

She was fully aware that both the Alatorre's were staring at her, but she was past the point of caring. She buried her head in her arms and wept openly at their table, too drained and distraught to think about trying to handle this situation as a princess would.

Elena wasn't sure how long she sat there, but when her tears eventually subsided she felt a warm hand gently grip her shoulder, and looked up through her tear soaked eyelashes to see Laura watching her, her eyes sad yet compassionate.

"You've been through a lot this morning," Laura breathed softly, her hand rubbing comforting circles into Elena's shoulder. "How about you lie down for a while and get some rest? We have a guest room you can stay in."

Elena nodded numbly. "Thank you," she sniffled. "I'm – I'm sorry for falling apart…" her voice wavered and she swallowed, forcing herself to breath deeply.

Laura gently brushed the stray hairs away from Elena's face and helped her stand. "No need to apologize. You just get some rest, and when you wake I promise we'll figure this all out."

Elena simply nodded again, and let Laura and Emilio lead her down the hall to their spare room. The room was nice and decorated similarly to the rest of the house, but Elena only took notice of the bed pushed up snuggly against the wall. She didn't realize how tired she really was until Laura suggested going to sleep, and now she felt like she could barely even stand upright.

"We'll be here when you wake up," Laura assured her as she practically fell on top of the bed, not even bothering to take off her shoes or climb under the covers.

"Thank you," Elena mumbled, exhausted, and fell asleep before the Alatorre's even left the room.

* * *

 _Darkness was creeping in._

 _The shadows lengthened along the ground, growing closer by the second, but Elena could not escape their slow and calculating descend. A cold shiver of dread shot down her spine as the shadows began to envelope her, prohibiting her escape once and for all. They were pressing down on her, suffocating her, like a knife slowly being twisted into her chest, but all Elena could do was stand there and let it happen, the sound of maniacal laughter filling her ears, and the sound of Mateo's anguished cries of terror filling her heart…_

Elena woke with a start, her eyes flying open to see nothing but linen. After panicking for a moment, she realized her face was simply buried in her pillow and raised her head to take a large breath, relishing the feeling of air expanding inside her lungs.

 _Why can't I just have nice and happy dreams for once?_ Elena thought bitterly as she turned her head to gaze at the room, trying to recall where she was before she suddenly remembered: the Alatorre's spare bedroom.

Elena sighed and shifted, trying to get comfortable again, but felt her heart rate spike as cold metal bit into her chest, reminding her of her vivid dream. Her hand quickly flew to her torso, and she breathed a sigh of relief when she realized it was only her necklace. She gently picked it up and pulled it over her head, finding it hard to believe it was only a day ago Christian had given it to her back in Aldea.

At least, she thought it was only a day ago. Elena sat up, fully awake now, as she wondered how much time had passed since she'd fallen asleep earlier that morning. Her stomach growled loudly, and she also realized she'd never gotten to eat the _magdalena's_ Laura had been making before she learned the news of Mateo and had a breakdown.

 _Mateo._ The thought of him brought a fresh wave of sadness and despair coursing through her, but Elena breathed deeply and slowly, resolving to not let herself fall into a void of hopelessness. She knew Mateo would be heartbroken if that were to happen, and she was determined to honor his memory and make sure he didn't die in vain.

Elena stood and dropped the watch necklace onto the bedside dresser, finding the cold metal around her neck to be vaguely disconcerting at the time being, and ventured out into the hallway, trying to recall where the kitchen was.

She had barely taken one step when a small girl suddenly whipped around the corner of the neighboring room and plowed into Elena, nearly knocking both of them to the ground.

"Whoa," Elena gasped as she leaned on the wall to steady herself. She looked down at the little girl and saw a clear mix of Emilio's bright blue eyes and Laura's dark curly hair. "You sure seem to be in a hurry," Elena noted, and was successfully able to give the small girl a genuine smile.

The girl in question simply gaped at her, before declaring in a high voice, "You're the hurt guest _mamá_ musta been talking about. She kept telling us to be quiet so you wouldn't wake up."

"Well, you can tell her I greatly appreciate that. Or perhaps I can tell her myself," Elena responded, peering down the hallway as though expecting to see Laura waiting at the end. "Where is your mom?"

"Making supper," the girl said, her eyes shining. "We're having _gazpacho!_ It's one of my favorites!"

Elena was so hungry she would've eaten anything, but the cold soup did sound especially appetizing. But before she could even open her mouth to respond, the young girl began speaking again. "So who are you? _Ma_ _má_ wouldn't tell me or Steph _anything_ about you. Are you one of _Pa_ _pí's_ friends that he meets really late at night sometimes? I bet this has something to do with _La Sombra,_ doesn't it?"

Elena blinked in confusion as the girl bombarded her with more questions, until Elena finally had to put a hand on her shoulder and interrupt her. "Listen, uh…" she trailed off before asking, "What's your name?"

The girl beamed at her before proudly proclaiming, "My name is Marianita Esperanza Alatorre. But you can call me Mari."

Elena couldn't help but smile at the childlike eagerness shinning in Mari's eyes. "Well, Mari, it's very nice to meet you, and I'd love to answer all your questions if I could, but I really need to speak to your parents first. Can you help me find them?"

"Sure!" Mari exclaimed, and then took Elena by the hand and dragged her down the hallway into the kitchen, where Laura was busing chopping up tomatoes. " _Mamá_ , the hurt lady is awake and wants to talk to you!" Mari hollered, seemingly unable to speak in a quiet voice.

Laura started and looked up to see Elena, giving both girls a gentle smile. "Oh good, you're just in time for supper," Laura told Elena before turning to her daughter and saying, "Mari, will go and help your sister finish cleaning her room? I have a feeling she's getting distracted by all of her toys again."

"Aw, but why do I hafta help Steph? She didn't help me clean _my_ room, and –" Mari's complaint was broke off by a stern look from her mother. "Alright." With a great sigh, Mari left the kitchen, albeit grumbling under her breath while she did so.

As soon as the small girl was out of sight, Laura set down her knife and walked over to Elena. "And how are you feeling?" she queried, pulling out a chair for Elena and herself at the table.

Elena sat down and put on her most convincing smile. "Better. I'm still…grieving a bit, but I don't feel half dead anymore," she tried to joke, but Laura only frowned in response.

"Listen," she started, "I've been thinking about what you've said almost all day, about how you're princess Elena, and…" she twirled her hand as she spoke, as though trying to come up with the right words to say. "You don't have the same symptoms as people I've seen who are mentally and emotionally unstable, and after seeing you break down at hearing about the old royal wizard, I just…I feel like you must've really known him to react in such a way, which means that you must be telling the truth and all but," she sighed, her eyes not quiet meeting Elena's, "…I really want to believe you, but it just seems so…"

"Impossible?" Elena offered. "Unthinkable? Crazy?" She laughed unhumorously. "Believe me, I feel the same way. I woke up to an entirely different Avalor today, with no idea how I got here or how to return. The only explanation I can think of is time travel, but I didn't think there were any spells like that, at least there aren't according to –" she broke off, finding it nearly impossible to say Mateo's name without tearing up again.

Laura seemed to understand, and simply reached out to squeeze her shoulder. "One of Emilio's friends knew the princess before she died – or, vanished, maybe – and I invited him over tonight, so he could tell us if it was really you or not. At first I did it because I wanted you to be proven…well, crazy, I guess, but now…" She finally turned her head and met Elena eyes with a steady gaze. "If you really are princess Elena, then you're the answer to everyone's prayers."

The fact that Laura wanted to believe her made Elena's sunken spirits soar. "I really am Elena," she assured earnestly, "and…thank you, for trying to understand." She paused a moment before eagerly asking, "Who's Emilio's friend? Did they used to work at the palace? I knew all the staff workers, or was it–"

"He isn't from this town," Laura interrupted. "He's from a town a few hours away, called Aldea." Laura watched Elena's face closely as she said, "His name is Miguel."

Elena's eyes grew wide as she heard the name. "Miguel? Of course I know him – I saw him not too long ago!" A large smile split her face as her heart began to beat rapidly in excitement. "Does he live in Avalor now? When will he be here? Are there any others from Aldea too?"

"He and my husband will be here in about half an hour, once they get off work," Laura informed, her face also alight with happiness. "And no, I'm pretty sure he's the only one. Avalor isn't exactly the most popular place to move to these days." She frowned as she spoke the words, but quickly regained her cheerful countenance as she turned to Elena again. "So how do you know Miguel?"

"I met him yesterday – well, for me it was yesterday, but anyway, my friends and I traveled to Aldea with him to help save some people who'd been trapped underneath a collapsed Inn." Elena looked down, her smile fading slightly as she recalled the events afterwards. "Right after that we heard about the attack on Avalor and raced back here, and I tried to face Shuriki but got caught in a duel with Carla, and then I somehow ended up here."

She looked up to see Laura still staring at her in wonder. "The first part of your story matches Miguel's," she muttered, but Elena could still catch the excitement in her voice. "You _have_ to be the princess – I can't see any other explanation! If only Emilio would believe it too…" she jumped out of her seat and began pacing, as if too enthused to sit still. "Even when he left for work this morning, a few hours after you fell asleep, he still believed you were just confused and needed medical help. When Miguel recognizes you he _has_ to believe you're telling the truth!"

Elena stood as well, energized by Laura's excitement. "I can't tell you how much it means to me that you believe me," said Elena sincerely. "Having people think everything you say is a lie is pretty unsettling, to be honest."

"I promise I won't doubt you again," replied Laura just as sincerely. She had just opened her mouth to speak again when Mari suddenly appeared in the doorway.

"I finished helping!" she announced. She then glanced at Elena and asked, "Are you still hurt, or did my _mamá_ fix you?"

"Elena is perfectly fine, _cariña_ ," Laura answered, giving Elena a bright smile.

Elena returned the grin as Mari turned to her and asked gleefully, "Do you want a tour of the house? I bet you'll like my room! You haven't met Steph yet either! C'mon there's so much to do!" She grasped Elena's hand and dragged her out of the kitchen, Laura's laughter echoing behind them.

"This is the living room, that's the coat closet, that's _mamá_ and _papí's_ room, that's the bathroom…" Mari kept listing off all the rooms in the house as she guided Elena through them at record speed, only stopping at her and her sister's rooms at the end of the tour.

Her sister, Stephanie, was two years younger than Mari and looked very similar to her, but had the complete opposite personality. She was very shy and wouldn't meet Elena's eye, let alone speak to her at all. Elena didn't mind, but Mari apparently found her sister's behavior to be exasperating and dragged Elena away after a few minutes, grumbling about how difficult little sisters could be sometimes.

Elena felt a pang of remorse as she once remembered thinking the same thing about her own sister when she was younger, but she quickly pushed those thoughts away before she could dwell on them, focusing instead on what Mari was showing her now.

"This is my room," Mari proudly proclaimed, and then proceeded to show Elena nearly every toy, gadget, and decoration within those four walls.

Elena in turn praised all of Mari's prized possessions, finding the small girl's enthusiasm for everything to be a welcome distraction from the pain still threatening to consume her from within.

Mari had just opened her wardrobe to get out her favorite dress, chattering happily about some make believe game her and her sister had been playing earlier, when she suddenly asked, "Have you met _La Sombra?_ "

Elena blinked in confusion, recalling the few times she'd heard the name mentioned that morning. "No, but I've heard the name before. Who is _La Sombra?_ "

Mari's eyes grew wide in disbelief. "You don't know who _La Sombra_ is?" She dropped the dress she was holding and sat down in front of Elena, her eye's sparkling with excitement. "I'll tell you all about him. He first came to Avalor about six years ago, when I was only one, and all he does is challenge the Delgado's and try to drive them out of the kingdom. He hasn't been able to yet – _obviously_ – but every year he gets more and more followers, but they all hafta be careful because if anyone gets caught supporting _La Sombra_ or helping him, the royal guards will catch you, and take you to the palace where they kill you!"

Elena stared at Mari, the horror on her face plain for the little girl to see. "The Delgado's just – just _kill_ people for supporting this vigilante?"

Mari nodded, then shrugged. "Well, I think. No one knows for sure, because those taken to the palace never come back, so we all just assume they're dead."

Elena was silent for a moment, struggling to process the information Mari had just given her. "But how do you know that _La Sombra_ is one of the good guys?" she questioned. "What if he just wants to take over Avalor for himself?"

Mari laughed as though Elena had just asked what a jaquin was. "He would never do that! He's really nice – he always helps people and protects them from the royal guards."

"And how does he help people?" Elena pressed curiously.

"He does most of his work at night, like a shadow, but he helps deliver food to people who need it, and helps rebuild things throughout town that the guards destroy and don't even care about." Mari let out an annoyed huff. "Without _La Sombra_ those guards would do whatever they please."

Elena paused a moment, her mind reeling. How could so many things have changed? Even when Shuriki was ruling, Avalor had still been a prosperous kingdom, but apparently it wasn't anymore. Now not one but _two_ tyrants sat on the throne, and the town was terrified of the people who were supposed to protect them, a masked hero their only hope. "But how does he do all of this and manage to challenge the Delgado's without being, well, killed?" Elena couldn't help but ask a moment later.

"Oh, that's the exciting part," Mari whispered excitedly. " _La Sombra_ is _magic!_ "

Elena blinked with surprise. "He's a wizard?" For some reason that possibility had never occurred to her. "Does he use a tamborita or a wand?"

Mari shook her head. "He doesn't use anything! The magic just comes from his hands."

Elena raised an eyebrow in confusion. Could magic even be performed without a wand or tamborita? She couldn't help but feel a chill run through her at the thought of how powerful this vigilante must be.

"The Delgado's have been trying to catch him for _years,_ but he always manages to slip away and stay hidden," Mari continued, waving her hands animatedly as she spoke. "No one ever sees him during the day, but every once in a while at night, he'll come out and singlehandedly attack the palace guards _and_ the Delgado's. It takes all of them to drive him back, but last time – _he almost won!_ " The excitement in her voice was clearly evident, and Elena was able to conclude that Mari was a large supporter of the mysterious man, no matter how dangerous it was to be one.

"What happens once he wins?" Elena asked.

Mari simply shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know," she admitted. "Some people say he should take the throne, but he doesn't seem like that type of person to me. _I_ think he's going to bring the royal family out of exile, and give Avalor back to them. I'm sure he knows where to find them – he probably knows everything."

Elena's heart leaped with excitement. Did _La Sombra_ really know where her family was? A sudden thought occurred to Elena as she turned her gaze back to Mari. "And how do _you_ know all these things about _La Sombra?_ " she wondered, fixing the girl with an inquisitive stare.

For the first time since their conversation began, Mari's smile vanished. She guiltily looked at her hands before she raised her head, whispering, "Can you keep a secret?"

Elena nodded, already half guessing what the girl was about to say.

"My _papí_ knows him," she explained quietly, confirming Elena's suspicions. "He's one of his supporters, and goes to secret meetings at night every few weeks to meet up with him. I'm – I'm not supposed to know any of this really, but I hear him and _mamá_ talking late at night sometimes, and I can't help but listen." She finally looked at Elena, her eyes wide and fearful. "You won't tell anyone, will you? I don't want my _papí_ and his friends to be caught."

Elena's heart ached with sympathy for the little girl. "Of course I won't," she murmured comfortingly. "I think your father is very brave, and I admire his courage to stand up in the face of adversity."

Mari frowned at her words, and Elena couldn't help but smile. "You're secret is safe with me," she assured again, squeezing the girl's small hands.

She wanted to ask if Mari knew when her father was meeting with _La Sombra_ again, to see if she could somehow go with him and meet the powerful man, but a shout from Laura prevented her from speaking.

"Elena!" she hollered with excitement. "Emilio and Miguel are here!"

Laura had barely finished speaking when Elena jumped to her feet, her heart beating wildly with anticipation. Would this finally prove to Emilio that she was the real princess? She quickly turned and raced through the house, Mari right on her heals, and nearly slid to a stop as she saw Emilio and another man standing in the hallway entrance. Both of them turned at her sudden arrival, and Elena smiled widely as she recognized her friend from Aldea. He looked different than she remembered, with graying hair and less of a mustache, but his eyes were still the same, and from the expression on his face it was evident he recognized her too.

"E – Elena?" Miguel gasped, blinking in disbelief. "You're…you're _alive!_ " He rushed forward and threw his arms around her in a large hug, letting out bouts of joyous laughter. "This is a dream come true! But how is this possible? When did you get here? Oh, there's so much to tell you –"

His celebration was interrupted as Emilio quickly rushed forward, grabbing Miguel by the arm. "Wait," he sputtered, eyes wide. "You mean…this is the _actual_ princess Elena? But – but she's dead! Right?" he added weakly, casting a bewildered look at them all.

"I really am Elena," Elena insisted to Emilio. "I know it sounds crazy, but I never died. I think I just got…frozen in time, or something."

"You're the real princess? I knew there was something special about you!" Mari exclaimed, eyes shining with awe.

Emilio continued to stare at her incredulously as Miguel came back to stand beside her, his small frame practically trembling with excitement. "This changes _everything!_ You're the hope Avalor has been waiting for – you can save us all!"

Elena raised her eyebrows at his exclamation. "Well, I'll certainly try to help, but I don't even have my scepter or anything. I don't know what I can do."

Miguel scoffed, his eyes twinkling. "Just being alive is more than enough," he told her. "You will bring hope to all of Avalor again."

"I hope you're right," Elena admitted. "But I have to find out how I got here first, and what happened while I was gone." Her mind immediately drifted to Isabel, Naomi, Gabe, and everyone else she'd left behind. _Hopefully their stories are different from Mateo's,_ she couldn't help but think in distress.

"I know someone who can help you find out," Miguel offered, still bursting with enthusiasm. "And I think he'd be very eager to see you, too." He turned and looked at Emilio for confirmation, to which Emilio gave him a stiff nod of agreement, continuing to stare at Elena with wide eyes.

Laura suddenly bent down and whispered to Mari, "Go and wait with Steph until I call you for supper – I need to discuss something with your father and his friends." Mari's eyes flashed with reluctance and she scowled, but did as her mom instructed and left the hallway.

As soon as Mari's footsteps faded, Laura rounded on Miguel and Emilio, her face a mask of uncertainty. "But how will you find him? You just returned from a meeting last night, and the next one will probably be weeks away! He never stays in one spot for long," she pointed out in a quiet voice.

Elena wondered if they were every going to speak _La Sombra's_ name, or if they were still trying to unsuccessfully prevent Mari and Stephanie from discovering who they were talking about.

"If we leave now and hurry, maybe we can catch him before he relocates," Emilio suggested, having finally snapped out of his shock, but Miguel was shaking his head.

"He's already gone, but…" he trailed off, an ecstatic smile growing on his face as he glanced at Elena. "I know where to find him."

Emilio laughed. "And how would you know that? Laura just said he never stays in one spot! If he didn't send us cryptic messages about where the next meeting's going to be held, no one would ever find him!"

Elena noticed the jubilant smile fading from Miguel's face. "Right, about that…" he murmured, facing Emilio with an apologetic expression. "I never exactly told you this, but…I actually know him, the man behind the hood, and…I know where he lives, too."

Both Emilio and Laura turned to stare at Miguel in shock, all three of them seemingly forgetting Elena's presence for the time being.

"You – you actually _know La Sombra?_ " Emilio repeated, glancing at Miguel as though he'd suddenly grown a tail. "I thought…I thought you were in the same boat as me! We were both just supporters who helped him carry out his plans for liberation!" Emilio exclaimed in bewilderment. "We've been friends and co-workers for _seven years,_ and never once did you find the time to mention that you're a personal friend of the savoir of Avalor?" Elena could hear the hint of betrayal in his voice.

"I would've told you if I could, but it was for the safety of your family!" Miguel protested pleadingly, gazing sadly at both Laura and Emilio. "I couldn't live with myself if the guards discovered you knew such crucial information and took you to the palace."

A tense moment followed as Emilio frowned at the floor, unmoving and silent, but eventually he let out a sigh. "Fine. I just can't believe that one of my most trusted friends was able to keep such a huge secret from me for all these years."

"That was the only one – I promise," Miguel assured, looking relieved, but Elena couldn't help but think that Emilio would've forgiven him no matter what – from what she could tell, he didn't seem like the type of person to get angry or hold a grudge for long.

A silence passed as the three adults regarded each with new understanding, but Elena interrupted the moment by clearing her throat, reminding them all of her presence. "So…am I going to be able to meet this guy? This _La Sombra_?" she asked, feigning interest and confusion as she remembered her promise to Mari.

Both Emilio and Miguel nodded and reached for the door, but Laura quickly cut in. "Not until everyone's had supper," she instructed, more towards Elena than anyone else. "You haven't eaten anything all day."

Elena realized she was right as her stomach clenched painfully with hunger, and she was happy to finally sit down and have a meal for what seemed like the first time in too long.

Throughout the whole meal, both Mari and Stephanie were staring at the adults with wide, curious eyes, and Elena couldn't help but wonder how much they'd overhead of the previous hallway discussion. She later discovered that Mari had heard almost all of it, for as she and the men were preparing to head out, she felt Mari tug on her skirt.

"Be careful, okay?" she whispered, her voice almost inaudible compared to its normal, boisterous volume. "And could you say 'hi' to _La Sombra_ for me, too?" she added quickly.

Elena smiled and squeezed the little girl's hand. "Of course. I'll see you soon."

Elena, Miguel, and Emilio left just as the sun was beginning to set. While they walked Miguel kept pestering Elena with questions, and she eventually ended up telling him a summarized version of her whole story, from when she and her friends left Aldea up to when she met Emilio.

"Incredible," Miguel breathed, staring up at her in fascination. "I still can't believe you're actually here! I can't wait to see what _La Sombra_ has to say about all of this – he probably knows how you got here."

Elena silently hoped he was right.

They walked in silence for a stretch, heading towards the forest before Emilio murmured, " _Ave María Purísima,_ Miguel! Where are you leading us?"

"Keep your voice down, and you'll see soon," Miguel instructed, continuing on into the forest.

It felt completely surreal to Elena to think that she, Gabe, and Mateo had been hiding out in the forest just that morning, planning on how to best recapture Avalor. She swallowed, blinking her eyes rapidly as the painful memories began to resurface.

Thankfully, Miguel stopped a moment later by an enormous oak tree, carefully glancing around the clearing.

"Okay," he breathed, "follow me," and walked straight through the giant trunk.

Both Emilio and Elena gasped as he vanished, before Elena suddenly realized just what the tree was. "An illusion!" she whispered in awe, recalling the illusions she used to be able to make with her scepter. "C'mon," she told Emilio, gesturing for him to follow her. She stepped through the trunk, blinking as her eyes quickly got accustomed to the lack of light. She was eventually able to make out Miguel standing a few meters away, waiting for them.

"This is so strange," she heard Emilio comment from behind her, and smothered her laughter.

"Alright, there's a hole here that leads underground, so watch your step," Miguel informed them before he stepped into the hole, quickly disappearing from sight again.

This time Elena and Emilio followed with less hesitation. There was a narrow ladder in the hole which led deep underground, further down than the dungeons in the royal palace, but eventually Elena was able to touch down on solid ground, the earthy smell of dirt surrounding her senses.

"How could any possibly see down here?" Emilio exclaimed, and not a moment later a warm glow filled the dirt tunnel.

Miguel held up a small torch, smirking at Emilio. " _La Sombra_ is not completely primitive, you know." He pointed towards torches and fire starters that lined the wall. "Of course, he only installed these for me. He can just make light at will."

"So you're the only one who knows about this secret passageway?" Elena stated as they walked along the tunnel, following Miguel and his torch.

"Well, I'm the only one who _uses_ this passageway. There are a few others who know about it, but they don't use this one. There are two other tunnels as well," Miguel explained matter-of-factly.

"I thought you said there weren't any more secrets," Emilio pointed out, annoyed.

"Well, none as big as the first one," muttered Miguel, looking sheepish again, but he plowed forward without hesitation.

They walked on for nearly half an hour, and after a while Elena figured that they were back in town again, only deep underneath it.

"How did these passageways even get here?" Elena wondered with amazement, looking around at the perfectly carved walls of dirt.

"How do you think?" Miguel answered. " _La Sombra_ made them. Ah, we're finally here." He stopped when their path suddenly merged with two others, creating one single trail that led straight to a large, weathered metal door.

Miguel approached the door and knocked once, then twice, and then a third time before stepping back. Both Elena and Emilio waited with bated breath, anticipation building as each second passed.

They didn't have to wait long. The door slowly swung open on its own accord, and Miguel briskly stepped through the threshold, Elena and Emilio following him more cautiously.

The room they stepped into was a large oval, lit by several torches hanging on the wall throughout the large space. Curved bookshelves filled with books lined the left half of the room, while the right side was occupied by vials and potions of every color and size. Several desks were placed unsystematically throughout the room, each surface covered with various maps and scrolls, but what caught Elena's attention was the lone figure standing by one of the tables. He was tall and slender, yet Elena could tell he still had a muscular physique. His clothes were all a deep scarlet color, but he wore a dark cape with a hood that fell over his face, and had gem studded gloves covering his hands along with a long golden medallion he wore around his neck.

"I did not expect you to return so soon," _La Sombra_ spoke, evidently not having seen Elena or Emilio yet. His voice was deep – too deep to be natural. Elena quickly deduced that it must be enchanted by a spell of some sort to disguise his actual voice.

"I had to come," Miguel replied with a huge smile, his voice quavering with excitement. "Wait until you see who I brought."

Elena watched as _La Sombra_ whipped around in surprise, and then froze. She couldn't see his eyes, but knew from the way he was standing rigid that he must be able to see her somehow. Very slowly, _La Sombra_ reached up to remove the medallion from around his neck, and set it gently on the desk he had been standing by previously.

Elena couldn't help but be a bit perplexed by the action, but also felt as though there was something exceedingly familiar about _La Sombra_ and his whole lair in general.

 _He reminds me a lot of–_ Elena began to think, but then her mind went blank as _La Sombra_ suddenly removed his hood.

For the man standing before her – _La Sombra,_ the mysterious hero, the savior of Avalor – was none other than the supposedly deceased Mateo de Alva.


	4. A Time to Listen

_**A/N: And I'm back! First off, thank you SO MUCH to everyone who's left a review on this story - reviews are what encourages me to keep writing! Second, the original version of this chapter was over 60 pages (~25,000 words) so I've split it into three chapters, which means I'll be posting all this week and you won't have to wait for four months again to find out what happens! (haha sorry about that...) And lastly, if you haven't already seen the AMAZING artwork lovelyrugbee made for the ending of the previous chapter about the **_**La Sombra** _ **reveal -GO SEE IT!**_ _ **! I can't tell you how many times I stared at it while writing this monster of a chapter, it is stunning! And so without further ado, here is part one of Mateo's backstory. Enjoy! xD**_

* * *

 _"Elena?"_ Mateo whispered in disbelief, his breath hitching on the last syllable. "How is this…?" He trailed off, his eyes wide in incredulity.

Elena couldn't form any articulate response as she gazed at Mateo, her heart hammering as her mind began processing everything that had just happened within the last few seconds. Just that morning she had been told Mateo was dead, but now suddenly he was standing before her, alive and well, although appearing much different than she remembered. He was older and taller, with broader shoulders and longer, unrulier brown hair. Stubble lined his chin and Elena noticed a faint pink scar along his left cheekbone, but his eyes – his deep, thoughtful, hazel eyes – were still the same.

"Mateo," Elena finally managed to say, her eyes blurring with tears. Ecstatic laughter escaped her lips, and the next thing she knew she was being swept up in a large hug, Mateo's arms wrapped tightly around her.

"You're alive," she heard him whisper breathlessly against her shoulder, and it was all Elena could do to not break down and cry joyously in his arms. Instead she just hugged him tighter, breathing in the smell of earth and firewood smoke on his robes, and relishing the feeling of his heart rapidly beating against hers. He was alive, and for a moment Elena had never felt happier.

"Wait…Mateo de Alva? Like, the dead royal wizard?!" Elena could hear Emilio exclaim in confusion behind them. Miguel must've nodded or given some sort of sign of affirmation, for Emilio then mumbled exasperatedly, "Does anyone actually die and stay dead in this town?"

Elena's laugh was muffled into Mateo's shoulder. She drew back a moment later to face him again, and reached up a hand to tentatively touch the scar on the side of his face. "You look different than I remember," she remarked, her voice wavering slightly as she once again realized just how much things had changed in her mysterious absence. Ten years had gone by, and all of her friends and family had grown up and continued on with their lives, yet suddenly she had returned and was still a lost, confused, eighteen year old princess.

"My appearance is the only thing that's changed. I'm still the same person I've always been," Mateo assured comfortingly. His eyes turned glassy as he admitted, "I thought of you every day after you died – or didn't, I guess." He chuckled before continuing. "Whenever I came across I problem I couldn't solve or felt hopeless in a difficult situation, I'd pretend that you were still beside me, encouraging me and reminding me to never give up, and that was enough to keep me going." Elena could detect the lingering despondency behind his words and hugged him tighter, too overcome with emotion to formulate a response.

Elena wasn't sure how long they stood, locked in each other's embrace, but reality came racing back to her when Miguel cleared his throat and starting speaking to Mateo again. " _La Sombra,_ we were all hoping you could help explain how Elena's appearance is possible."

Both Miguel and Emilio were waiting for a response, and frankly, she was interested in what Mateo had to say too. With great reluctance Elena gently released him, looking up into his eyes as she did so. Mateo was still gazing at her as if she were the only thing that mattered in the world, and Elena couldn't help the large grin that immediately graced her lips in return.

" _La Sombra…?_ " Miguel prompted again, glancing awkwardly at Mateo when he never responded.

"There's no need for formalities here, Miguel," Mateo instructed casually, finally looking away from Elena. "I trust everyone here to keep my real identity a secret."

"Right, sorry. Habit I guess." Miguel chuckled, and then repeated, "But how do you think all of this happened?"

Mateo's lips twisted into a thoughtful frown. "Let me hear your story Elena, and maybe we'll be able to come to a solution." He then clapped his hands together and four chairs flew from the other side of the room to where they were standing, landing gracefully in a small circle.

Elena couldn't help but gap at her friend. "How – how did you do that?" she asked in awe. "And without your tamborita?"

Mateo smiled as he grabbed a chair and sat down. "I forget you've never seen my _guantivas_." He took off one of the gloves he was wearing and handed it to Elena. It was made of light, smooth material, and had small, golden crystals embedded just beneath the knuckles.

"It's lovely," Elena complimented sincerely, fingering the stretchy fabric. "But how does it work? Did you make them yourself?" She handed the glove back as she awaited his answer.

Mateo nodded, and Elena couldn't help but note the proud gleam in his eye. "I did," he replied. "The material is the same as a tamboritas, and the stones are what give the gloves their magic capabilities. Watch." He angled his hands towards one of the large torches hanging on the wall and then clapped. Immediately the flame went out. He repeated the same motion and the flame ignited, but this time Elena noticed the small crystals on the back of his gloves glowing every time he clapped them together.

"That's amazing!" she cried, deeply impressed. "How did you make them? Where'd you even get the idea from?"

"It doesn't really matter – I'll tell you later," he deflected nonchalantly, but Elena watched as his eyes grew dark and the smile on his face faltered, and fearfully wondered what sort of horrible memories must be racing through his mind. Yet he regained his cheerful composure in a matter of seconds and turned to Elena, his face now inquisitive. "What really matters is hearing _your_ story. Everyone thought Carla killed you—how did you survive?"

With slight reluctance, Elena put her own curiosity about Mateo's past aside and told him everything that she'd experienced in the past day. She told him about the strange spell Carla shot her with, how she ran outside the palace to find everything changed, how she met Emilio, how she found Miguel again, and how she finally came to find him.

When she finished speaking Mateo was staring at the ground, tapping a finger against his chin while thinking.

"So…" he eventually spoke, "Carla hit you with some unknown spell, and then suddenly the world was different?"

Elena nodded in confirmation.

"Do you remember what the spell was?" He stood up and began pacing, his brows furrowed in thought.

Elena closed her eyes and tried to remember. Technically, Carla casted the spell just earlier that morning, but Elena was having a hard time recalling the exact incantation. "I think it was _rejonza_? No, maybe _relojazo_? It started with something like that…"

" _Rejolaza?_ " Mateo suggested, to which Elena gasped and nodded her head enthusiastically.

"Yes, exactly!" she cried. "Do you know it? What does it do?"

Mateo sat down again, looking even more confused than before. "Yes, I know it," he began, looking her over with curiosity. "But it shouldn't have done what you say it did. _Rejolaza_ is a spell that temporarily freezes people, as though they're frozen in time, but it can't actually _manipulate_ time."

Elena wasn't sure if that was good news or bad news. "Can the spell freeze people for, let's say, ten years?" she inquired.

Mateo shook his head. "It's temporary. It usually only lasts to be about…" he suddenly trailed off, eyes going wide. "Ten _seconds_ ," he breathed, and then jumped up and ran to a nearby bookshelf, immediately grabbing books and frantically flipping through their pages.

Elena shared a bewildered look with Emilio and Miguel before all three got up and wandered over to him.

"What are you looking for?" Miguel asked eagerly, peering under Mateo's arm to see what book he was holding.

"Something I read a few years ago, about magic and its effect on time," Mateo explained, tossing a book aside and grabbing another. "There are no spells that can actually change time or manipulate it, but when some are combined with certain Maruvian relics, time travel suddenly becomes possible."

Elena's eyes grew wide. "So I _did_ time travel? Ten years into the future?"

"Or else you were trapped in some invisible time realm for ten years and just now got released," Emilio offered alternatively.

"So Elena was holding a Maruvian relic when the spell hit her?" asked Miguel, looking between the three of them in confusion.

"But I wasn't holding anything besides my scepter – but it fell out of my hand when the force of the spell knocked me backward," Elena pointed out, beginning to understand Miguel's confusion.

"No, it wasn't the scepter, it was – _aha_!" Mateo exclaimed triumphantly. Emilio, Elena, and Miguel immediately swarmed around him, eager to see what he found.

"Elena, look at this drawing, and tell me what it reminds you of," Mateo instructed, holding out the book excitedly.

At first all Elena saw was a strange mashup of circles with indecipherable markings scrawled along the edges. Frowning in confusion, she studied the image harder, trying to make sense of the spherical shapes and foreign markings, faintly recognizing them from somewhere…

She gasped as the realization came to her. "The watch necklace Christian gave me in Aldea!"

Mateo nodded in agreement, beaming widely. "It says here that there was a total of three watches made, all enchanted with the power to travel through time," he read. "Normally they only work with special spells designed specifically for their use, but will sometimes react unpredictably to other spells that mimic time alteration." He looked up, his hazel eyes bright with exhilaration. "This solves everything!" he stated breathlessly. "Carla's spell hit your necklace and it reacted by launching you ten years into the future – to right now!"

The mystery had finally been solved. Elena wasn't sure whether to be happy or terrified that they now knew the truth, but as she brought her hand towards her neck to grab the mysterious time traveling device, she realized with a jolt that it was missing.

"Oh no!" Elena moaned, frantically patting the front of her dress. _Where was it?_

"What? What's wrong?" Mateo asked in concern, gently gripping her shoulder.

"That watch, its –" Elena began to explain, but then suddenly recalled taking it off after experiencing a vivid and disturbing dream while she slept in the Alatorre's guest room. Despite its alluring and beautiful appearance, having a cold chain hanging from her neck had disconcerted her at the time, so she left it sitting on the bedside table instead.

"Did you lose it? What's wrong?" Emilio demanded when she never answered, unease written across his face.

Elena quickly waved off their worries. "No, sorry, I thought I misplaced it, but now I remember where it is. I took it off and left it in the guest room I spent the night in," she explained to Emilio, her own heartbeat returning to its normal rate.

She heard Mateo let out a large sigh of relief. "That's good to hear, because Elena—do you realize what this means?!"

Elena was at a loss, her eyebrows raised in uncertainty at the thrilled expression he was giving her. "Uh, it means I'm not as forgetful as I thought?"

"What? No—well, yes but no." Mateo laughed, his eyes gleaming in delight. "What I meant was that with a simple reversal spell, I bet I can send you back ten years into the past, and you can keep any of this from ever happening!"

Elena blinked at the implication of his words, and wondered why the thought had never before occurred to her. Could she really go back and change time?

"Wait," Emilio interjected. "Just to be clear, you want her to go back into the past, and then prevent any of this—including this conversation _right now—_ from happening?" He looked a bit distressed at the idea. "How can she do that? Kill the Delgado's as soon as she gets the chance? And what if she _actually_ gets killed? Then we're still in the same situation as now, only worse because she's dead!"

Elena wanted to protest, to object against his claims, but instead found herself frozen with doubt. What if Emilio was right, and she wasn't able to change the future? And did she really have to _kill_ the Delgado's and Shuriki to make that happen?

She turned to Mateo, knowing he could clearly see the uncertainty in her eyes, and felt comforted at the warm smile he assured her with. "I believe in Elena," he asserted. "I know she can find a way to change the future without having to resort to measures beyond her moral boundaries."

The sheer amount of trust and certainty lacing Mateo's words warmed Elena from head to toe. She used to be the one always trying to encourage him, but now the tables seemed to have turned.

"Are you sure?" Emilio persisted again, wringing his hands together in uncertainty. "There are just so many variables that can go wrong with time travel… What if the future turns out worse than it is right now?"

"You'd have to pretty pessimistic to believe that," Miguel pointed out grimly.

Emilio glared at his friend before turning back to Elena and Mateo. "I'm just taking precautions," he stated earnestly.

Mateo nodded at his words, showing that he understood. "You're concerns are valid," he agreed. "But you're only looking at the negative side of the situation; think of the positive advantages as well, like living in an Avalor free of tyranny, with the rightful rulers on the throne. Think of not having to hide every good deed you do, with the fear of being ripped apart from your family and forced to suffer. Think of a better life, one that can easily be made possible if you just have faith and believe that Elena can make it happen."

By the end of his speech, Elena was certain her face was flushed in embarrassment from all of his praise. _Since when did you start blushing because of Mateo?_ she found time to think before she quickly cast the thought aside, focusing on Emilio instead.

He still looked hesitant, but Elena could tell he was considering Mateo's points and slowly coming to a decision. After a few seconds of silence he eventually sighed, and said, "I suppose you're right. You are _La Sombra,_ after all, and if I can't trust you, who can I trust?" A smile tugged at his lips, and the doubt that had filled his eyes was once again replaced with admiration.

Mateo simply smiled in response, seemingly content. "So, now we just need to get the watch," he announced, and turned to address Emilio and Miguel. "Do you think you can find it and bring it back here? I'd go there and get it myself, but I know there's going to be a patrol stationed near your house Emilio, so I think it's better if I stick out of sight tonight. Elena too."

Miguel nodded eagerly. "Of course we will. We'll be back in record time!" He begin dragging his friend away before Emilio could barely nod his consent.

"Just be careful—remember the patrol!" Mateo called as they exited the chamber and disappeared down the long tunnel.

Elena came to stand beside Mateo, watching until the light from their torch was absorbed by the darkness. Once they were gone, Mateo closed the large wooden door and turned to Elena, happiness alight in his eyes.

"So…" he began.

"So…" Elena parroted with a grin.

Mateo simply shook his head in amusement as he hugged her again, an action which Elena enthusiastically reciprocated. As his arms enveloped her she was once again reminded of how much older he was than her now, and how much bigger he was, too.

"So if ten years have passed, that means you're…twenty-eight?" Elena asked, stepping back to get a better look at him.

Mateo nodded, running a hand through his disheveled hair. "I'm getting old," he joked, and then released her to gesture at the large room. "But the real question is, what do you think of my extravagant secret lair?"

Elena laughed, and pretended to scrutinize the area with mock seriousness. "It has lots of space, and definitely lots of reading material." As she wandered around the large oval room, she noticed little details she had previously missed, such as his bed pushed up snuggly in between two bookshelves, a few mirrors and paintings adorning the wall, a large wardrobe, and a coat rack with several different colored cloaks hanging from it. "It's very nice," she finally complimented sincerely.

Mateo nodded his thanks. "Yep, it's nice, but the scenery gets pretty boring. You're the most beautiful sight I've seen down here in years," he admitted as he grinned at her, slightly abashed.

Elena could feel heat crawling up her face at his words. _Why am I blushing_ again _?_ she thought crossly, her cheeks flaming even more with embarrassment. _This is MATEO! I've never acted this way around him before!_

 _But Mateo's different now,_ the traitorous part of her mind whispered. _Now he's older, wiser,_ handsomer _—_

"It's good to see you again, too," Elena replied with a smile, furiously ignoring her thoughts. She turned away before he noticed her internal turmoil and wandered over to one of his other desks, finding and lifting up the gold medallion he was wearing when she first walked in.

"What's this do?" she asked, twirling the object with curiosity.

"Oh, that's a part of my disguise. I enchanted it to make my voice sound deeper than normal, so no one can tell it's me. I took it off when I saw you though, because I actually _wanted_ you to recognize me." He smiled and gestured for her to put it on. "You can try it if you want."

"Thanks, but I'll just take your word for it," Elena replied as she set the medallion back down, and turned to examine the other objects he had strewn across the room.

"Most of the things you see in here are enchanted in one way or another," Mateo informed with pride. "Every object has its purpose."

"Wow," Elena couldn't help but breathe in amazement. She spun in place as she took in the whole room again. "How in the world did you find this place?" she asked in bewilderment, her eyes trailing over the numerous shelves and delicately carved stone walls.

"To be honest, I kind of stumbled into it," he explained, leaning against one of the map covered desks. "I found one of the tunnels when I was fleeing from Shuriki, and then later when I returned to Avalor I decided to make my home here."

Elena frowned. "Miguel told me you created the tunnels."

"I created two of them," he corrected. "The one leading to the forest, and the one leading to the docks. The third one leads to the palace, which is the one I accidentally found."

Elena froze. "You can get to the palace from here? But what if someone from the palace goes through the tunnel and finds _you_?" An image of the Delgado's storming through his lair and attacking him suddenly flashed through her head, and she shuddered at the idea.

Mateo waved away her worries. "It's fine. Only Isabel and Gabe know about the tunnel, and they keep it pretty well protected."

Gasping, Elena whirled around to face him. " _Isa and Gabe are alive?!_ " she nearly shrieked. "And in the palace?" Her heart began ferociously beating as she thought about her family. She had been so preoccupied with the watch and Mateo that she'd completely forgotten to inquire about the welfare of her family and friends.

"What about my grandparents? Esteban? Naomi? The jaquins? Armando? Doña Paloma? Julio –?" Her outburst of names was cut off by Mateo.

"Woah, hold on. One at a time, Elena," he instructed, holding up his hands in an effort to quiet her. He was silent for a moment before he slowly began to answer her questions. "Yes, Isa and Gabe are alive and at the palace. Yes, your grandparents and Esteban are alive, as long as they don't try to leave the island they've been exiled to. Naomi's alive, and out of everyone she's probably the happiest, too. The jaquins are in Vallestrella. As for the rest, I – I'm afraid I don't know, and I've been too scared to actually find out." He hung his head, and the dull, despondent look she'd already seen on his face so many times just that evening returned. "I know Armando fled during the purge, and I hope that Doña, Julio, Carmen and all our other friends did too, but I don't know for sure."

"The…purge?" Elena echoed in confusion, the name sending shivers down her spine.

Mateo gave a hollow chuckle as he slid down into a nearby chair, folding his hands tightly together and resting them beneath his chin. "You missed a lot these last ten years, Elena," he whispered hoarsely, as though haunted by the memories.

Elena slowly moved toward him and sat down in her own chair. Gently, she laid a hand on his shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze. "Then tell me," she whispered in return. "Tell me what I missed. Help me to understand what happened to you Mateo—to all of you."

Mateo gazed at her for a long moment, before finally mumbling, "You really want to know?"

 _Probably not,_ Elena thought, but nodded resolutely. "Yes."

He nodded, clearly expecting her answer. "All right, I'll tell you what happened," he said with a sigh, and then sat up straighter, steeling himself for whatever lay ahead. "I guess a good place to start is right after you disappeared…"

* * *

"So what now? We wait for the Delgado's to come flying out to greet us on their broomsticks?" Skylar asked jokingly. The jaquin's humor was well appreciated, but it did little to diffuse the tension of the situation.

"Something like that," Mateo responded distractedly, his eyes glued to the palace as they waited anxiously. Right after he'd set off a series of sparks into the air with his tamborita and made enough noise to wake a sleeping giant, he and Skylar had flown down to the ground to prepare for battle. Elena, Migs, Luna, and Gabe should've seen their signal and taken off to carry out their part of the plan, but due to all the smoke hanging in the air Mateo could barely see the actual sky, much less his friends.

 _I hope this plan works,_ Mateo thought for what must've been the hundredth time within the span of five minutes. So many things could go wrong, but it was the only plan they had to go off of.

Seconds ticked by, each one feeling longer than the last. Mateo could hear his heart pounding erratically in his chest, and was sure his hand was going to blister from how hard he was gripping the handle of his tamborita.

 _Was the distraction big enough? Did Shuriki or the Delgado's even notice it? Are Elena and the others okay?_ he thought frantically, ears straining against the silence surrounding them.

But then suddenly he heard shouts of terror coming from his left, and he turned to see a flash of green light and heard a heartless voice cry out, _"Vidisima!"_

His blood ran cold. He knew for a fact that the voice did not belong to either of the Delgado's, meaning that the person who'd come to confront him and his little distraction was none other than—

"Shuriki!" Skylar growled, his hackles rising as he bared his teeth menacingly.

 _This is NOT going according to plan!_ Mateo had time to hastily think before he raised a shaking hand, holding out his tamborita defensively. "Shuriki," he repeated loudly, hoping that he didn't sound like he was going to pass out at any second. "You've been beaten once and you can be beaten again, so I'd advise that you leave Avalor— _now._ "

The chuckle Shuriki gave him in response nearly froze Mateo to his core. She was walking steadily closer, looking around the city with interest as though she found the burning buildings and smoky air pleasing. Her appearance was exactly the same as he remembered, which led him to start speculating about how she was still so young before he brought his mind back to the present, resolving to wonder about Shuriki's aging habits later.

She was so close now he could see the maniacal gleam haunting her cold, green eyes. "I see our dear _princesa_ isn't here to join the party," she pouted, giving Mateo a mock frown of disappointment. "It's really too bad. My subjects and I have been waiting for her to return all night."

She had stopped right in front of him and was now fastidiously examining her fingernails. Mateo knew he should do something; cast a spell, scream, _anything,_ but found himself too scared to speak, lest he aggravate her and give her an incentive to obliterate him.

"I bet Elena went to the palace," Shuriki continued, "but no matter. Carla is there, and I have faith that she'll finish off that pesky royal brat for me."

The fear that had been weighing Mateo down seemed to immediately dissipate, and with a hate filled cry he blasted a spell at Shuriki, and successfully knocked her off her feet.

Confidence surged through his entire being—at least, until Shuriki stood back up, grinning wickedly as she began to float off the ground with green mist gathering beneath her feet.

"Is that all you've got?" she gloated as she towered above him. "I was expecting something more from the Royal Wizard, but I guess you _are_ Alacazar's grandson, so I'm not too surprised."

Anger began to boil his blood as he glared at Shuriki. _Have confidence,_ Elena's words echoed through his mind, so he spun around and mounted Skylar, the two of them rising up in the air to meet Shuriki's height.

"You talk too much," Mateo finally retorted, whacking his tamborita to shoot another spell at Shuriki. He kept repeating the same spell over and over, hoping to overwhelm the witch and catch her off guard. She managed to avoid most of them, but was having trouble pinpointing his exact location thanks to Skylar's serpentine maneuvers.

"Stay still, won't you?" she growled, casting a bright blast in their general direction, to which Skylar easily dodged.

Back and forth the two went, parrying each other with hopes that one of them would tire and slip up soon. Mateo knew that Skylar couldn't keep flying in winding patterns for long, especially after having flown nonstop all night, but didn't want to abandon the duel and appear like a coward. He had to keep going, for the sake of Avalor. For Elena.

No sooner had the thought solidified itself in his mind when he saw a figure running towards the battle, only their silhouette visible through the smoke. From what Mateo could briefly glimpse between his constant defensive spells, the figure appeared to be a young woman—a woman holding a familiar looking scepter.

"Elena!" Mateo cried out with delight, momentarily forgetting Shuriki's presence. His shout caused Skylar to pause as well, but their brief moment of hesitation was the exact opening Shuriki had been waiting for. With a swift flick of her wand, she shot both Mateo and Skylar with a momentary paralysis spell, causing them to both tumble to the ground with a large, painful _thud._

With stars swirling in his vision, Mateo gradually felt the spell wear off and feeling rush back into his throbbing limbs. Groaning, he sat up and raised his head, hoping to see Elena approaching to help him defeat Shuriki once and for all.

But what he saw instead nearly stopped his heart

Standing next to Shuriki was Carla Delgado, grinning devilishly while proudly twirling Elena's scepter in her hands.

 _But where's Elena?_ Mateo thought frantically, his pain momentarily forgotten as he struggled to his feet. _If Carla has her scepter than that means—she must—_

"Like my new scepter?" Carla taunted, catching Mateo's horrified stare.

Shuriki floated back down to ground level, glaring at Carla as she snarled, "That scepter belongs to _me,_ Carla."

For a second Mateo thought Carla was going to refuse and try to keep the scepter for herself, but after a tense moment she shrugged and tossed it to Shuriki. "Whatever," she mumbled. "My tamborita works just as well."

"Where's Elena?" Skylar shouted from behind Mateo, gingerly rising to his paws.

The crazed, malicious look returned to Carla's eyes as she drew closer, and suddenly Mateo began to feel a cold, hopelessness drift over him, uneasiness filling his mind as he recognized that it must be the dark magic radiating off of her, just like Skylar and the other jaquins had described.

"Where's Elena?" Carla repeated as she smirked at them, Shuriki coming up to stand beside her. "She's dead. Wasn't that hard to finish her off, really. All I did was shoot a spell at her and she disintegrated into the air."

Mateo couldn't believe it. He _wouldn't._ This was Carla, after all, he reminded himself, and she always told lies to try to manipulate people. But she did have Elena's scepter, which meant that Elena was either hurt or in trouble, and that he needed to find her.

"Don't get too confident, Carla," Mateo spat. "You're really not as great as you think." As soon as the words left his mouth, Mateo swung his tamborita around and casted a spell that created a cloud of smoke, effectively blocking Skylar and himself from view.

"Skylar, follow me," Mateo whispered, reaching out a hand to brush against the jaquin's fur, and then led them deeper into town, away from the city center where the duel had been taking place. Together the two of them swiftly made their way to the palace and used the cover of the smoky air to fly to an upstairs balcony, where they were able to successfully slip inside undetected.

"Mateo, I think I should go find Luna, Migs, and Gabe and tell them the plan's gone all wrong," Skylar informed, his wings anxiously twitching. "I'll bring them back here so we can all look for the _princesa_ together."

Mateo nodded in agreement. "I'll be here," he promised, and then watched as Skylar took back to the skies, quickly disappearing in the expanse of gray.

Now that he was alone, his mind began to wander, which led to him nervously pacing across the room and wringing his hands together. _What if Elena actually_ was _dead?_ was his main thought, but he kept casting it aside every time it popped into his head. _I didn't notice Gabe or Luna or Migs when we were flying into the palace,_ he thought instead. _Did they escape, or were they captured too?_ More and more questions kept forming in his mind, only increasing his anxiety, but then his heart stopped as he heard Shuriki's voice call out from the ground below.

"Search the palace—every single room!" she ordered the guards standing by the entrance. "That wizard boy and his flying pet are hiding in there somewhere."

Mateo didn't wait to hear the guards' response, instead just quickly scanning the room for a suitable place to hide. When his search came up empty, he cautiously crossed the room and opened the door, peering out into the hallway. Seeing that there was no one there, he set out at a brisk run, hoping to find out where Elena was before guards began swarming the palace floors. He knew that if Elena was being held somewhere, it would most likely be the dungeons, so he made his way stealthily through the palace, never having imagined that he'd be hunted in the place he considered to be his second home.

Only once did he run into small group of guards, but a simple spell from his tamborita sent them all quickly into a deep sleep. He used the same solution on the guards stationed in front of the dungeon entrance, and within moments he had slipped passed the large barred door, closing it noiselessly behind him. The staircase leading down to the individual cells was dark, but Mateo was able to find his way based on the sound of multiple voices whispering from the approaching corridor. He rounded the final corner of the staircase and paused, letting his eyes adjust to the lack of light, but then heard his name called out enthusiastically.

" _Mateo!"_ the voice shouted, and he instantly recognized it as Naomi's. Immediately his name was chorused throughout the dungeons by several of the other prisoners, their tones all ranging from excitement to disbelief.

"Mateo, you're alive!" Naomi cried again, reaching her hand out to him through the bars lining her cell. She was in the cell nearest to him, and the cell adjacent to hers held Gabe and several other royal guards, and next to them was a cell with Isabel, Esteban, Francisco, and Luisa inside. The other cells were all filled with various palace workers and villagers.

"Are you guys okay?" Mateo asked, running towards them in concern. His eyes quickly scanned the cells and his heart sank as he realized Elena wasn't among any of the prisoners. _Where is she?_

As if reading his mind, Isabel pipped up and asked, "Where's Elena?" Her eyes were full of apprehension, and Mateo noticed a slight bruise forming along cheek.

"I…I don't know," he admitted, trying to keep his voice steady. "Carla had her scepter, and was saying that she was dead…but I didn't want to believe her. I thought she was just trying to scare me, but—"

"Then free us, and we'll go find her!" Gabe demanded, limping towards his cell door, and Mateo finally noticed how awful his friend looked. His hair was disheveled, the whole left arm of his uniform had been ripped off, and blood ran freely from several gashes and cuts covering his body.

"Right, sorry!" Mateo apologized as he tore his eyes away from Gabe and fumbled with his tamborita, wondering why he didn't think of releasing his friends as soon as he saw them.

He had just unlocked Naomi's cell when shouts were heard from above, followed by the unmistakable sound of several footsteps descending the staircase.

Panic flared inside Mateo. "What do we do?" he asked as Naomi flung open her cell door.

"Run!" instructed Luisa, her eyes wide. "Don't worry about us, we're fine here. Find Elena!"

Mateo wanted to protest that he couldn't leave everyone else behind, but Naomi grabbed his hand and began dragging him further down the hallway, past all the other prisoners begging for release.

"Naomi, where—where are we going?" Mateo sputtered as they rounded a corner and down another hallway lined with more—thankfully empty—cells. They could hear Shuriki's guards shouting in anger back in the other hallway, clearly noticing Naomi's empty cell and looking for someone to blame, and quickened their pace.

"The prison guard's office is just around the corner," Naomi explained hastily. "It's never been used though, so there's just a lot of junk piled inside. We can hide there."

She skidded to a halt right outside a small wooden door and nearly tossed Mateo through the doorway before slipping inside herself. Once the door was closed the room became pitch black, so Mateo quietly casted an illuminating spell with his tamborita to give them some light.

Naomi hadn't been exaggerating when she said there was nothing but junk inside. Since the cells had never been used during Elena's reign, the prison guard's office had been turned into nothing but a large storage space filled with old Navidad decorations, broken furniture that was too valuable to dispose of, and giant portraits of rulers long forgotten.

"Find a place to hide and don't make a sound," she instructed urgently, tiptoeing her way through the debris to crawl behind a frilly pink armchair. Mateo scoured the room and spotted a crawl space behind a large painting propped against the wall, and quickly concealed himself behind it, distinguishing his tamborita light as he did so.

No sooner had the light gone out when footsteps and furious yelling could be heard from the hallway.

"Keep going, I'll look in here," Mateo heard a man order, and then the door to the room opened. Mateo tensed, barely allowing himself to breath as the man's footsteps neared Naomi's hiding place, but then the man let out a huff of annoyance and drew away as the door was closed again.

Mateo still sat frozen, relieved that the man hadn't looked through the room as thoroughly as he probably should have. He waited for almost five whole minutes before he finally emerged from his hiding space, seeing Naomi crawling out from beneath hers as well.

"What luck," she whispered with a grin. Mateo tried to return her positive smile but found that he was still too wrought with worry to be optimistic.

"Now what? How can we find Elena?" Mateo questioned, creating a light with his tamborita again.

"First we gotta get out of here," Naomi reminded him, walking toward the door and peering beneath the crack. "We can try to make a break for it out this way, but we have to be fast."

"Is there another way out of this room?" Mateo wondered aloud. The two began a hasty search for another door or window, but came up with nothing. They were just about to try and race out back into the hallway again when Mateo noticed a strange lump beneath the foreign rug covering the far corner of the room.

"Wait a minute," he whispered to Naomi, and pulled up the edge of the rug. Just as he'd suspected, the lump he'd seen was a long hinge, which led to a small trap door leading to somewhere beneath the castle.

"Woah!" Naomi breathed in amazement. She then gave Mateo a congratulatory whack against the arm. "Good eye, Mr. Royal Wizard!"

"Thanks," Mateo grimaced as he rubbed his shoulder, but felt his curiosity spark despite their precarious situation. Never in his whole two years of working at the palace had he ever found a mysterious passage way like this one. He stood back and watched as Naomi hefted the wooden door open and peered down inside. All they could see was a ladder that descended down into darkness.

"A dungeon beneath the dungeon?" Naomi thought aloud. Mateo shrugged, but he climbed inside anyway, anxious to start searching for Elena. Once he and Naomi had carefully descended into the passageway and closed the trap door, Mateo cast his illuminating spell again to shed light on the path before them, which was surprisingly made entirely of stone.

"Look, there's weird writing engraved onto the stones," Naomi pointed out, her finger gently running over the ancient inscriptions.

"It's Maruvian!" Mateo exclaimed. "I recognize a few of the letters, but I can't piece together the whole message…"

"Well, we'll have to come back later. Right now let's find the exit, find Elena, and then rescue everyone else."

Mateo quickly agreed and the two set off at a running pace, their footsteps echoing loudly off the stone. They kept running and running for almost twenty minutes until they came upon another large, cobweb covered wooden door.

"What is this…?" Naomi muttered, and it took a combined effort to push the door open. Once inside they could see a large oval room, with old furniture lining the walls and books scattered along the floor.

"It looks like whoever was here left in a hurry," observed Naomi, flinging a stray cobweb away from her face.

"It doesn't look like anyone's been here for centuries," Mateo added, gingerly picking up the old tomes from the floor. "Look at this one," he called excitedly. "Inside are a bunch of illustration guides on how to cast certain spells, oh, and this book looks like it has explanations on the inner workings and functions of a tamborita, and –"

"Look, Mateo, I'm glad you're having fun, but we've got a more pressing issue right now," Naomi interrupted. "There's no way out of here! We've come to a dead end—we have to go back!"

Mateo's excitement vanished as his heart sank in disappointment. If there was no way out, then they had just wasted precious time that could've been used to find Elena.

"Let's check just to make sure—it could be like the guard's office, right?" Mateo suggested, but within a few minutes it was concluded that the stone room was nothing more than a regular room.

"This was such a waste," moaned Naomi as they closed the wooden door and started back down the passageway. "Now we're in the same situation as before! Twice as many guards will protecting the entrance to the dungeons now, so how will we get out?"

Mateo bit his lip, unsure of what to say. "At least we know about a secret room we can hide in if things go really bad."

Naomi just sighed in response.

When they finally reached the prison guards office again, Mateo was completely winded from having ran the whole way there and back. He stooped over to catch his breath as Naomi peered through the door crack again.

"I don't hear many voices," she informed quietly. "Maybe—"

Her voice died as the sound of footsteps neared them, and then grew dim again. Naomi pressed her eyes against the keyhole as Mateo hovered anxiously beside her.

"What's happening? Did someone walk by?" he hissed into her ear.

"It looks like he's patrolling," she finally answered a few minutes later. "Every few minutes he comes by again, which means he must be circling the dungeon hallways."

"So can we escape after he passes us?"

Naomi thought for a moment before nodding. "I think so, but we have to be quick, and also keep an eye out for other guards. I'm positive he's not the only one."

"Well, if there's not too many, I can put them asleep with a spell," Mateo said. Naomi nodded at his words, signaling to him that that would work.

After waiting for another few minutes the guard's footsteps could be heard passing by the room again, and as soon as he rounded the corner Naomi silently opened the door and closed it once they slipped outside.

"Let's go," she whispered determinedly, and they crept down the hallway, keeping in mind where the patrolling guard should be in regards to their position.

Every step Mateo took seemed too slow, and every breath too loud, yet the two of them were able to sneak around the cells without coming face to face with any guards. Once the staircase leading out of the dungeons came into view though, they had to duck into a dark corner to avoid being seen. At least five guards lined the exit, and even more were likely stationed next to the cells that everyone was being held in.

"Shouldn't we try to rescue everyone why we're here?" Mateo whispered, hating the thought of his friends locked up and imprisoned.

"We wouldn't make it out, there's too many guards," Naomi reasoned back. "Remember what Luisa said? Find Elena first, then save the day."

"Alright," agreed Mateo, albeit hesitantly. They immediately went silent as they heard the footsteps of a guard approaching, and held their breath, frozen, as they tried the best they could to blend into the shadows of the dungeon walls.

The guard passed by without a glance.

Their sighs of relief were barely audible, but profound.

"We need to leave _now_ ," Naomi hissed urgently. Mateo agreed, and then silently gripped his tamborita and pointed it toward the torch hanging at the far end of the hallway.

" _Inflamaza!"_ he breathed, and lightly tapped his tamborita. The flame wavered and grew, becoming nearly twice its size and almost engulfing the torch handle before anyone noticed it.

"Hey!" the patrolling guard cried in alarm, his voice alerting the rest of the prison guards as well. They immediately moved from their stations to investigate the cause of concern.

Mateo didn't need Naomi's elbow jab in the ribs to know that this was their chance for escape. With the guards preoccupied by the growing torch flame, the two slipped silently up the staircase, but Mateo couldn't ignore the foreboding twist in his stomach as they left everyone imprisoned behind.

Once they had emerged into the open hallway again, Naomi turned to Mateo, her eyes darting about the hallway on alert. "Where to now?"

Mateo knew they could never find Elena if they had to spend their whole time hiding and looking over their shoulders. "Let's go to my workshop," he suggested a moment later. "I think I have a potion that could help us search for her easier."

Naomi gave an affirmative nod, and together they stealthily made their way down to the library, only encountering one guard that Mateo swiftly enchanted to fall asleep.

Mateo was relieved to find his workshop still intact and untouched, but knew it wouldn't be long before either the Delgado's or Shuriki came down to confiscate all of his potions and books. He grabbed what he deemed to be the most important of his magical items and placed them all together in a knapsack, which he slung over his shoulder, and then proceeded to search for the invisibility potion he had brewed a few months ago.

"Let's see, under the 'I's'…illness, illumination, inv—aha! Invisibility!" Mateo snagged the violet potion from the shelf, but frowned when he saw the amount in the bottle. He must not have brewed as much as he thought.

"Great! Let's chug it and go," Naomi said, rocking on the balls of her feet impatiently.

"There's only enough for about an hour of invisibility, and divided between the two of us it means only half an hour. We've got to go fast, okay?" Mateo explained.

Naomi bobbed her head in understanding, and then took a sip of the potion Mateo handed to her. Almost immediately, she faded from view.

"If the circumstances weren't so awful right now, I'd really be enjoying this," her voice spoke from somewhere beside him.

Mateo allowed himself a quick smile before he drunk the rest of the potion. It was cold and settled like dead weight in the pit of his stomach, but within moments his hands, clothes, and anything touching him began to disappear right before his eyes, and he knew with confidence that his plan would work—for at least a half an hour.

"Alright, let's find the Delgado's and Shuriki. I bet you anything Elena is being held somewhere, and they'll lead us right to her." Mateo took the lead as he gripped his knapsack tightly and led the way out of his workshop, hoping against all hope that this wouldn't be the last time he'd see it.

"Maybe we should split up, so we can cover more ground," Naomi's voice recommended.

Mateo balked at the idea of going their separate ways without any back up, but then reminded himself that they were invisible and had a limited amount of time. "Alright," he finally consented. "Let's meet up in my workshop once the potion wears off."

"Sounds good," Naomi agreed. "I'll go right, you go left. Good luck."

"You too," Mateo responded grimly, and hurried away, searching for any sign of Elena or her captors. It wasn't long before he came upon a few guards, all quietly conversing in the hallway outside the main guest rooms. Mateo initially froze upon seeing them, planning to carefully circle around them, but paused when he heard their conversation.

"…and anyway, who do you think will take over the Captain of the guard?" one of the guards asked. "Since Nuñez obviously won't be around much longer."

Mateo swallowed nervously and crept closer to hear.

"Maybe Shuriki will just take over—I mean, I don't see her entrusting any of _us_ with the task, do you?" the second guard responded.

The youngest of the three guards then piped up. "She'll probably appoint someone like her," he stated bitterly, "cynical, wicked, heartless—"

The first guard nudged the younger boy roughly. " _Cállate,_ Paco," he hissed, his eyes immediately scanning the hallway and passing right through Mateo. "Do you _want_ to get us all killed?"

The boy looked at the ground sheepishly. "No," he mumbled. "I'm just stating the facts. And she isn't even here anyway—she's with the Delgado's in the treasury room," he added more defiantly.

 _Aha!_ Mateo thought triumphantly, and began to creep away as the second guard said, "Still, be wary. You saw what she did earlier—you don't want to be on the receiving end of that just because you didn't know when to keep your mouth shut."

Their conversation grew fainter the farther away Mateo went, but he was no longer paying them any attention. With renewed vigor, he swiftly made his way to the treasury room, only to find it fortified by a horde of guards.

 _Figures,_ he thought in resignation, and was contemplating on how to sneak in past everyone when another guard come toward him from the opposite end of the hallway. Mateo hopped out of the way to avoid colliding with the man and watched as he approached the doors, nodding at the guard stationed in the very front.

"I have a message for Shuriki about the prisoners," he stated with a tone of urgency. A look exchanged between them, and then the guard by the entrance nodded, stepping aside and opening the large wooden doors. Mateo couldn't believe his luck, and quickly acted before the opportunity was spent. Pressing himself as close as he dared to the messenger, he slipped in behind him and successfully snuck into the room. He allowed himself a triumphant grin before he tiptoed over to the far end of the treasury, where he spotted Shuriki and the Delgado's.

"What are _you_ doing here?" he heard Shuriki snarl and froze, fear spiking through his veins before he realized her question was directed at the messenger, not him.

"It's about the prisoners, or one in particular," the messenger managed to say without stuttering under the intensity of her gaze. "The Turner girl has escaped, we think with the help of the royal wizard—"

" _Former_ royal wizard!" Carla interrupted with an exasperated scoff.

"Uh, yes, the former royal wizard," the messenger continued. "We've searched for them everywhere, but think they may have fled the kingdom." He finished his report and watched Shuriki warily.

"So…" she eventually said, twirling her wand between her fingers. "Two teens have managed to elude nearly ten guards. I must say I'm quite disappointed." She flicked her wand and sent out a tendril of green smoke, watching as it slowly slid its way across the floor and began to snake around the messenger's feet. "And now you're telling me you think they've run away together, leaving everyone behind?" Her chuckle sent a shiver through Mateo. "Are all of you really this _stupid_? Of course they haven't left! They're going to try and rescue everyone first, like the heroes they make themselves out to be."

"They won't stand a chance though, now that Elena is dead," Victor added, giving his daughter a proud smile.

The messenger's eyes widened. "She's…she's really dead?"

"Of course!" Carla replied, rolling her eyes in annoyance. "I defeated her. All it took was one spell and then _poof_! Bye-bye princess." She giggled as she gestured at Elena's scepter hanging from Shuriki's belt, and Mateo began to feel sick.

"Yes, yes, well done," Shuriki congratulated, her tone one of slight aggravation. "Now," she turned her attention back to the horrified messenger. "Go and tell the prison guards that if they find both the ship girl _and_ the wizard boy, I may overlook their grievous error. If not," she flicked her hand and the green tendril of smoke sprung up, wrapping itself around the messenger's neck. The man began to flail and fell to his knees, his hands grasping uselessly at the magical smoke that was choking him. "You can tell them they will suffer a fate _much_ worse than this." She grinned maliciously and then flicked her wand again, releasing the messenger from her hold. The man gasped and quickly stood up, the fear palpable in his eyes as he nodded and raced out of the room.

"Well, that was exciting," Carla commented as she turned back to the jewels she had been marveling at previously, taking them out and trying them on while admiring herself in the reflection of the glass.

"Yes, quite," Shuriki responded, sheathing her wand as she glanced around the room. "I think we've done sufficient inventory here. Let's move on."

Both the Delgado's grumbled disgruntledly.

"Can I at least wear Elena's crown?" Carla pleaded, her whiny voice beginning to grate on Mateo's nerves. "She won't have any more use for it, because she'd dead, obviously."

Mateo watched as Shuriki scowled at the young girl. "Carla, I know you got rid of Princess Elena, and I am indeed impressed and pleased, but you don't need to remind me of it _every single minute!_ " she snapped. "And I don't care what you do or don't wear."

Most people would've flinched or even cowered under Shuriki's wrathful glare, but Carla simply stared the witch in the eye and shrugged, unperturbed. "Fine then." She snagged Elena's crown from its pedestal and placed it on her head before begrudgingly following after Shuriki and her father.

 _But why are they still pretending like Elena's dead?_ Mateo wondered, his heart pounding as he watched them leave. As he slowly began to follow them, a conclusion began to form in his mind. _No, no, no!_ he shouted at himself. _She can't be dead, she can't be dead, she—_

A sudden thought occurred to him, one he wasn't sure why he didn't think of before. He stopped trailing after Shuriki and waited until the door was closed and locked behind them before he pulled out his tamborita, his heart still thundering in his chest. _It has to work, it'll be fine, he'll know where to find Elena,_ he told himself, but doubt began plaguing his mind and his hands shook as he summoned Zuzo from the spirit realm.

Immediately the blue spirit fox appeared before him, looking bewildered. "Hello? Who's there?"

"Zuzo, it's me, I'm just invisible," Mateo explained, hating the way his voice shook.

The spirit guide turned toward the direction of his voice, and Mateo was shocked to see the distress written across the fox's face. "I'm glad you summoned me Mateo, something's wrong, it's—"

"Zuzo, where's—where's Elena?" Mateo quickly interrupted, his throat dry.

It only took one glance at Zuzo's crestfallen expression for Mateo to know the truth.

"I'm not sure," Zuzo admitted softly. "I can't sense her anywhere _._ "

"So she's… _dead_?" The words left a bitter taste in Mateo's mouth, and he found that his limbs seemed to stop working properly as he slumped to the floor, the truth he'd been denying for so long finally catching up to him. _Dead, dead, dead._ The words were pounding against his skull so loudly he could barely think.

"Well, only maybe," Zuzo's voice protested.

Mateo looked up and realized his vision had gone fuzzy. He swiped at the unnoticed tears gathering in his eyes and turned to Zuzo, a small flicker of hope worming its way through the anguish beginning to overtake him.

"What do you mean?" he managed to ask.

"Well, if she was dead, I would be able to sense her spirit in the spirit realm, but I can't, so there's a small possibility she might be alive." Zuzo smiled hesitantly, before his eyes became downcast again. "But like I said earlier, I can't sense her anywhere in the spirit realm or here, so…either my connection to her has been severed and her spirit is in some unknown realm, or her spirit somehow got destroyed too."

Mateo's stomach turned at the thought. "Are—are either of those things even possible?" he asked in horror.

Zuzo simply shrugged. "I have no clue…" he admitted sadly. It seemed to Mateo that he was just trying to invent circumstances that could prolong the ultimate acceptance of Elena's death.

"But either way, she's still… _gone._ " Mateo swallowed heavily at the realization that he would never see her again.

For the longest time Mateo had thought of Elena as untouchable—nothing could defeat her—but now he realized how mistaken his previous conceptions were, and that Elena was truly, undeniably _gone_.

The crown princess of Avalor, the person who had restored hope to the land, the girl who'd encouraged him to be confident and strengthened his love for magic, his _best friend_ , was gone.

The tears began silently, streaming down his face in even, wet tracks, but then his lungs began to burn and it felt like he was being stabbed every time he breathed, and the tears began flowing more rapidly and haphazardly, shaking his entire body with their never ending torrent as they cascaded down his cheeks.

He had never experienced grief like this; sure, he had been sad and mourned before, but it had never _hurt_ like this, and it took everything in him not to curl up on the floor and fall into an endless void of desolation.

"I'll keep looking, I promise," he heard Zuzo say sincerely, and was glad that the spirit guide couldn't see him falling to pieces. "If I find out anything, you'll be the first to know. I'll find some way to get through to you."

Mateo nodded despite Zuzo not being able to see him, and then the fox vanished into thin air, leaving Mateo completely and utterly alone, with nothing but his misery to keep him company.

He wasn't sure how long he sat like that, curled up in the corner of the treasury room wallowing in grief, but by the time all his tears were spent and he could finally breathe regularly again, a sudden realization hit him that momentarily replaced his sorrow.

He looked up from where his head had been buried in his hands and realized he could _see_ his hands, along with his knees, feet, legs, and his whole body.

 _When did the invisibility wear off?_ he thought, panicked, as he instantly glanced at the treasury door at the far side of the room. Shuriki, the Delgado's, or _anyone_ could walk through the door at any moment, and he'd be toast.

And then he had a second realization.

 _Naomi!_

He was supposed to meet her in his workshop at the end of their half an hour, but how long had he been in the treasury? Obviously longer than he was supposed to if his potion had worn off.

 _Stupid, stupid stupid!_ he chided himself as he sprang to his feet, desperately trying to formulate a plan, yet he was still too emotionally unstable to have any clear, coherent thoughts.

 _Maybe I can just sneak out without anyone noticing me?_ he wondered doubtfully, but had no other plan to try. Gripping his tamborita tightly in his hand, Mateo approached the wooden door and opened it very slowly, peering through the crack to gauge the difficulty of his situation. Only three guards were stationed outside, since the rest of them had no doubt left when Shuriki did.

 _I can handle this,_ Mateo assured himself, and opened the door a crack wider. Very quietly, he inserted his tamborita through the gap and whispered, " _Dormnumis."_ The enchantment sprung through air and hit his target. Immediately after the first guard slumped to the ground in slumber, Mateo hit the other two with the same spell before they could even realize what had happened.

 _Success,_ he thought with triumph, and then raced down the corridor heading to his workshop, peering around every corner he came to. He only had to hide in a broom closet once when a mass of guards passed by, but the rest he could quickly send to sleep before they sounded an alarm.

Yet when he finally managed to return to the library, he was met with a heart wrenching sight. The painting leading to his workshop had been completely destroyed—parts of the canvas lay littered through the room, and he could see from his spot by the entrance that his workshop itself had been ransacked.

Mateo swallowed, feeling a lump form in his throat. He was losing everything he ever cared about—his freedom, Elena, and now his magic. How was he supposed to move on and be okay with this?

Unbidden tears began gathering in his eyes, much to Mateo's dismay, and he valiantly tried to keep them at bay. _You can't fall apart again,_ he mentally admonished himself. _You need to find Naomi first._

But where was she?

If she wasn't at their rendezvous point, it meant she either was still searching the palace or she had been taken and imprisoned. He couldn't help but think that the latter option was the most likely. With that in mind, he firmed his resolve and began to head back to the dungeons for the second time that day, determined to rescue Naomi and everyone else he'd left behind.

He found his journey to be surprisingly uneventful, even though by now surely _someone_ had noticed all the randomly sleeping guards littering the palace floors. When he got down to the prison level, he discovered the hallways were practically deserted and strangely silent, sending off warning bells in his mind.

Was this some sort of trap? An ambush? The handle of his tamborita was slick with sweat from his palms as he slowly advanced forward, the furious pounding of his heart filling the eerie silence.

When he finally approached the mini stairwell leading down to the cells, he realized what was wrong about the whole scenario. There was no one there—the cells were completely empty.

Mateo blinked once, and then twice, trying to wrap his mind around the sight before him. Why were they gone? Where did they all go?

 _Today is without a doubt the worst day of my entire existence,_ he thought drearily, descending defeatedly down into the dark dungeon. He checked every cell and even the guard's office he and Naomi had hidden in, but there was no one to be found.

 _Maybe they all escaped?_ he tried to think positively, but found the chances of that scenario occurring to be very slim.

Ideas of what to do next were growing thin, and weariness began to overtake Mateo as he felt all the adrenaline and fear from the past day and night catch up to him. It was only mid-morning, but he'd been awake and on the move for over twenty-four hours, and the more he wondered about when the last time he rested was, the more tired he became.

 _Maybe I just need to lie down for a few minutes to clear my head, and then I'll set out and start searching for everyone again,_ he told himself, making his way back to the guard's office. He pulled the rug aside to open the trap door leading down into the secret passage way and climbed in, securing the entrance back up before closing it and locking himself inside. He wasn't going to bother walking all the way to the large stone room he and Naomi had found earlier; he just needed a safe place to rest his eyes, without the fear of being slain in his sleep.

 _Just for a few minutes,_ he instructed himself as he curled up on the stone passageway, his knapsack doubling as a makeshift pillow. _And then back to work…_

He was asleep before he could even finish his train of thought.

* * *

 ** _A/N 2: The next chapter will be posted in a few days! (I PROMISE)_**


	5. A Time to Persevere

_**A/N: And here's another chapter, as promised! I hope you guy's are enjoying it! :D**_

* * *

Mateo awoke with a start, sweating and shaking on the cold stone floor. Sleep may have come to him easily, but he was tormented by dreams plagued with death and destruction of everything he loved and cared for, and it wasn't until after he woke that he realized his nightmare had become his reality.

Due to the ever-present darkness in the stone corridor, Mateo had no idea how long he was asleep or how much time had passed. He used his tamborita to light up the passage and stood, trying to shake off the grogginess in his limbs and the desolation in his heart. Once he grabbed his knapsack and slung it over his shoulder, he made his way up the ladder and cautiously exited the secret tunnel, finding himself back in the prison guard's office again. He expected the rest of the prison to be as deserted as it was the day before, but when he heard the distant chatter of people right around the corner, he froze.

 _Am I going insane?_ he wondered in alarm, but as he slipped out of the room and peered around the corner to the neighboring hallway, he could see the cells were full again, only with half as many people and even less guards.

 _Strange._ Mateo waited to see if there were any patrolling guards circling the dungeon, and when it became evident that there weren't, he snuck quietly to the nearest cell. Even in the darkness he could see the cell held five people—two women and three men—and once they saw him he immediately put a finger to his lips, signaling to them to be quiet.

He couldn't remember their names but recognized them as some of the palace staff, and it was evident from the way they smiled at his arrival that they recognized him, too. He crept into the empty cell next to theirs and crouched low, out of sight of any guards, and moved closer to the bars to whisper to them.

"Are you here to rescue us?" one of the younger women whispered eagerly, her face pressed up against the bars.

"I'll try," Mateo promised, "but where did you all go? The last time I was here I was going to help everyone escape, but you were gone!"

The woman who had spoken earlier grimaced, and now one of the men replied instead. "Shuriki ordered for all the prisoners to be brought to the throne room, where she gave us options and informed us of how life will be from now on." Even though the man's voice was barely audible, Mateo could discern the disgust in his tone. "It was either be her slave or die, so we and everyone else in here took the latter option."

Mateo's heart nearly stopped. There were at least twenty people, if not more, still being held prisoner in these cells. Did that mean all of them were going to _die?_

"Everyone?" he breathed in horror. "Is death really better than working for her?"

"You don't know what she did to Avalor—to our friends and families," another man growled in a deep voice. "I'd rather die a million times than be the personal slave of that witch."

The other woman nodded in agreement, her eyes as hard as stone. "I used to work for her before Elena came and took back the throne, but that was before everyone truly realized the extent of her wickedness. Now, she's destroyed my home and killed several of my friends, and I will _never_ take orders from murderers like her and the Delgado's, even if it means my demise."

The passion in their voices as they described the reason behind their hate for Shuriki and the Delgado's left Mateo feeling cold and nauseous. Just how many people had suffered at the hands of those three?

 _Too many,_ he answered himself grimly.

"What about the rest of the royal family?" Mateo inquired softly.

The first girl spoke again. "They were also at the large gathering Shuriki held," she explained. "Everyone in the royal family has been exiled to a small island, far from Avalor, except for princess Isabel, of course."

"Why not Isa?" Mateo asked in concern.

"She was actually the one to suggest exiling her family," the other woman cut in. "Originally they were going to all be executed, but she offered an alternative solution where they were simply sent away instead, and in return she pledged herself to be the personal slave of Shuriki, and design and build whatever she wanted."

Mateo felt his heart break for her and her sacrifice. _And when she finds out Elena really_ is _dead…_ He only knew too well the amount of anguish the young princess would endure.

"She is a brave girl," another man added soberly. "She also saved Captain Nuñez too, although I don't think he was very happy about it—I know I wouldn't have been."

Mateo frowned in confusion before the younger girl began to explain again. "She bargained for him to be a slave to Shuriki as well, but he wanted to be executed with the rest of us. He was acting a bit rash though, and I don't think he was thinking clearly since he found out about his parents, so I don't know if it was a wise call or not, but she saved him nonetheless."

"What…what happened to his parents?" Mateo asked, already feeling the burn of approaching tears behind his eyes.

"They both died in the fire," the girl revealed gently, her eyes shimmering in the faint torchlight.

 _Oh, Gabe…_ Mateo thought forlornly, his heart aching again for another one of his friends. How much more death and tragedy could everyone take?

"Señor de Alva, is what Shuriki said true? About princess Elena?" one of the other men whispered, looking as apprehensive as Mateo did moments earlier when he asked about Gabe's parents.

Mateo had been hoping this question wouldn't come up. A lump formed in his throat, and he found he could barely speak. _No!_ he wanted to shout, to ignore the ugly truth staring him in the face and save these people from grief, but he couldn't lie to them; they deserved to hear the truth from someone they could trust.

Without saying a word, he nodded, avoiding their eyes and flinching at their soft, horrified gasps.

"Avalor truly is doomed," the man moaned, dropping his head in his hands.

A long moment passed as the five palace workers sat in silence out of respect for the princess.

Finally the older woman broke the silence. "Elena may be…gone, but not everything is lost," she encouraged. "There are still people who will stand up to Shuriki and the Delgado's, like our royal wizard right here." She smiled confidently at Mateo. "Just don't lose hope—that's one thing they can never take from us unless we let them."

The other four looked heartened at her words, yet Mateo felt his heart plummet. Were all these people now expecting him to defeat Shuriki and two literally heartless malvago's?

He gave them the most confident smile he could muster, although he felt like curling into a ball and hiding until someone else much braver decided to take on Shuriki instead. "Let's get you out of here," he finally whispered in response, and retrieved his tamborita. He lightly tapped his drum wand and breathed the enchantment, watching in satisfaction as the cell door clicked and unlocked.

"Wait for my signal, and then run," he instructed before moving on to the other cells. All the prisoners were deadly silent as they watched him soundlessly free them from their cells, and after all the locks had been opened, Mateo pointed his tamborita at the guards and declared, " _Dormnumis!_ " in a loud, clear voice.

The guards started and turned to face him, but fell to the floor in a deep sleep before they could even react.

A cheer rose from behind him, and all the prisoners threw open the doors to their cells, racing out and hugging each other in celebration. Mateo smiled at their joy, but couldn't help but worry about how they were going to actually _escape_ the palace.

Once everyone had finished rejoicing, Mateo waved his tamborita in the air, calling everyone's attention to him.

"Okay," he began, shifting awkwardly as everyone turned their eyes to him. "So to get out of here, we're going to make a beeline straight for the east exit—I don't think it should be as guarded as the main one will be. But everyone needs to stay close to me and be cautious and silent."

Everyone nodded at him, staring at him with expressions full of trust and confidence. Mateo swallowed nervously and nodded himself before heading out of the dungeon, nearly twenty-six people trailing behind him, their lives in his hands.

The first part of their journey was the hardest, seeing as they had to travel through the middle of the palace to get to their destination. The hallways seemed to be quiet though, and they only encountered guards one at a time.

"Say, what time is it, exactly?" Mateo asked one of the former staff members next to him. He had gone to sleep mid-morning, yet the sky looked almost the same as it was when he'd fallen asleep. Did he really only rest for a few minutes?

"It's around nine in the morning," the man responded. "It's been almost a full day and a half since Shuriki's invasion."

Mateo froze, eyes wide. "A whole day?" he repeated in shock. He had gone to sleep only a few hours after he'd arrived to fight Shuriki following her invasion, so did that mean—he had slept for a _whole day?_

Mateo groaned inwardly, but there was nothing he could do about it now besides try to make up for all of his lost time.

He kept his eyes peeled for any sign of Isabel, Gabe, or even Naomi as they snuck through the halls, yet he didn't see any of them. In just a few short minutes they arrived to the eastern exit, and Mateo couldn't believe how successful their journey had been. He was just about to open the door when he heard a familiar, tantalizing voice sneer, "So _there_ you are. Shuriki was right—you did stay around to play the hero."

Mateo whipped around to find Carla standing before him, arms crossed over her chest as she raised an eyebrow in admonition. "I always knew you were the weak link, Mateo." She chuckled and unsheathed her tamborita. "You're too naïve, too predictable, and too easy to _break_." She sent a spell soaring across the room at him, which Mateo barely managed to deflect.

"Everyone, _go!_ " he shouted to the escapees behind him, creating a shield between them and the advancing Carla. The former palace staff raced out the door and outside, but Mateo knew they would still need his help to get past the guards at the gate. As soon as the last prisoner was out of the door, Mateo dropped his defensive shield and sent a spell racing toward Carla, momentarily distracting her as he shot another one at the ceiling, bringing it down just as he jumped out the exit moments before the debris completely sealed off the doorway.

His limbs tingling with adrenaline, Mateo sprinted to catch up with his group before the guards got to them. He didn't bother with being discreet anymore, figuring Carla had already alerted everyone in the palace to their presence. He reached the front of the group just as they were arriving to the main palace entrance and saw that there was a mass of guards all standing at the gates, prohibiting anyone from entering or exiting.

 _Not on my watch,_ he thought fiercely, determined to get these people to safety no matter what.

He swung his tamborita around and shouted, " _Levaluq!_ " as he neared the first barrage of guards, smiling at their horrified cries as they hovered in the air. He then began shouting other various spells left and right, distracting all the guards from their posts and stopping them from preventing the escape of the prisoners.

" _Dormnumis! Levaluq! Canaza! Fetzi! Allabeza!_ " Mateo called out as he spun in a circle, hitting every guard that tried to overtake him. He casted every spell flawlessly, swiftly dodging the guard's attempts to apprehend him, and even smiled when he saw the former palace staff escaping across the bridge heading into town, where they could then travel to safety.

 _I'm actually doing really good,_ he thought in surprise, taking a moment to glance at all the guards he'd incapacitated so far. Confidence surged through him as he realized just how formidable a force he was, and for the first time since the whole invasion started, he began to feel hope.

And then he saw Carla emerging from the front doors of the palace with her father, and his hope instantly dwindled.

With a quick look over his shoulder he could see that all the escapees had fled past the gates, and he breathed a momentarily sigh of relief. At least whatever happened next, he knew that he had saved them all from an unjust death.

At the sight of the Delgado's advancing toward them, the rest of Shuriki's guards backed off, content to watch the two malvago's do the fighting instead.

"So, you freed a bunch of whiny servants, big deal," Carla scoffed indifferently, but Mateo could almost see the fury radiating off her figure. "They weren't of any use to us anyway."

"Your death will be much more satisfying than theirs would've been," Victor added with a smirk of anticipation.

Mateo felt his stomach clench nervously as they slowly moved down the steps, advancing on him as though he was prey to be hunted. "You won't be able to kill me," Mateo argued, sounding bolder than he felt. "You've failed at everything else Shuriki's ordered you to do."

Carla tensed at his words and growled, looking about ready to lunge and tackle him before Victor threw out an arm, stopping her from engaging in a physical fight.

"We may have had a few… _slipups_ concerning the prisoners, but my daughter here has already accomplished the one task Shuriki desired the most," Victor taunted, giving Carla a surreptitious wink.

"Shut up," Mateo growled, clenching the handle of his tamborita rigidly.

"Oh yeah," Carla grinned, all notions of attacking Mateo gone. "I killed Elena—she'll be eternally grateful for that."

"Shut _up,_ " Mateo repeated, anger slowly replacing the nervousness he was formerly experiencing.

"It was _so_ easy too," Carla continued nonchalantly. "You should've seen the way she was cowering, pleading for me to go easy on her. It was so _pathetic!_ I've never seen such a weak, spineless princess—"

" _STOP_!" cried Mateo, red hot fury now blurring his vision. His limbs were shaking in rage as Carla went on, having the gall to gloat about murdering one of the truest, most genuinely kindhearted people in all of Avalor, who never deserved the fate which ultimately befell her.

" _Fetzi!_ " he shouted, pounding his tamborita furiously as he pointed it in their direction. He couldn't stand to endure another second of Carla's callous dictation of Elena's last minutes, and to have to relive the pain of mourning his best friend—the person who he cared for more than life itself—only now with detailed images of her demise plaguing his mind.

Victor blocked his spell and picked up on Carla's taunts. "Nothing was ever going to get accomplished with Elena as queen—don't you see we did Avalor a _favor_ by eliminating her?" he jeered, sending a spell flying at Mateo with a flourish of his tamborita.

Mateo just managed to sidestep it, his chest heaving. How could they say such things? The more they talked the worse it got, until all Mateo wanted to do was see them writhing on the ground in pain, so they could experience the agony they were bringing him now.

He attacked them with renewed strength, his rage fueling his weary limbs and clouding his mind until he couldn't think of anything else besides bringing them down.

 _They don't deserve to live,_ he thought brutally, hurling the most destructive spells he knew at them. It wasn't until a few minutes into their skirmish that he realized the Delgado's had herded him backwards onto the bridge between the palace and the village, eliminating any barriers between them.

If he was thinking clearly he should've directed the fight elsewhere, knowing that his chances of survival depended on having obstacles available to dodge behind, but revenge tormented Mateo's mind, and all he wanted was to avenge Elena and rid Avalor of the Delgado's forever.

"What's wrong, Mateo? You don't have your little princess to protect you anymore?" Carla mocked, shooting a spell toward him that barely missed his head.

Mateo let out an unintelligible yell as he tried to fire the same spell back at her, but his aim was completely off.

 _Don't you see what they're doing?_ a small part of his mind shouted—the only part of his mind that wasn't consumed by grief and rage. _They're manipulating you! They're purposefully tugging at your emotions to distract you and make you more of a susceptible target! Don't let them in your head—this isn't like you!_

Mateo knew he was acting uncharacteristically—he had never been so consumed by hate before—but if he let go of all of his anger he'd be reduced to a blubbering mess, wrought with anguish and exhaustion, and then he'd _never_ be able to defeat the Delgado's.

Their duel continued, each spell fired becoming more dangerous and destructive than the previous. Mateo could see people gathering on the steps of the palace, watching the battle in horror.

"Why don't you just give up, Mateo?" Carla hollered, despite being only a few feet away from him. "We've had magic for only a day and already you can see that we're better at it than you."

"Elena made a grievous mistake, appointing you as the royal wizard," Victor added harshly.

"You're dreadful at magic," Carla sniggered.

"Worthless overall, really." Victor laughed along with his daughter, their jeers piercing Mateo as though they were swords.

"There are still people who believe in me," Mateo protested, and hurled another spell at them, but his enchantment was weak, and they easily deflected it as they laughed even harder.

"After that spell you just casted? I doubt it." Carla's eyes seemed to bore through his as she swung her tamborita around to face him. "Let me show you how the _professionals_ do it. _Mogato!_ "

Mateo tried to jump to the right, but Carla must've anticipated his action, for the spell hit him straight in the chest and flung him backwards ten feet, his body colliding painfully with the stone railing on the bridge. The wind was completely knocked out of him, and Mateo gasped as he realized his arm was now bent painfully at the wrong angle, yet he still had his tamborita clutched in his grasp.

"Did you see that?" Carla hollered to the onlooking crowd. "No one can defy us!" She grinned manically at the spectators.

"You're not a professional yet, Carla," Mateo mumbled just loud enough for her to hear. He gathered as much strength as he could muster and sat upright, flinging his arms together to send an enchantment barreling into Carla, knocking her flat on her back. "You should know to never turn your back on your enemies," he advised scathingly, grimacing as pain shot up his wounded arm. He quickly but gingerly got to his feet, eyeing Carla as she struggled to sit up as well.

"Lucky shot," Victor conceded in a steely voice, and Mateo jumped, having momentarily forgotten the older man was there. "But let's see how long your luck will hold out, shall we?"

Victor lunged forward, his tamborita at the ready as he casted a spell at Mateo, who barely managed to duck and roll out of the way. Sweat broke out along his forehead as the pain in his arm seemed to double with every move he made, yet he knew there was nothing he could do to suppress his discomfort besides end the fight.

Mateo created a shield around himself before Victor could launch his next attack. _Think,_ he instructed himself. The fury that was consuming him earlier was beginning to fade as fear settled in place, his odds of surviving becoming slimmer at every moment. _I need to come up with a plan, something to increase my chances of survival. But how? What am I supposed to do? Distract them until I can run? Try to destroy or take their tamboritas? Try to trap them in_ —

His brainstorming came to an abrupt halt as he suddenly felt himself flying farther back than before, his shield having been cracked by the force of two tamboritas working together. Mateo managed to angle his body so that he wouldn't land on his wounded arm, but the impact was still hard enough to jostle his injury and bring tears of pain to his eyes.

He quickly sent another spell flying in their direction before they could demolish him and heard a large crash in result, plus several cries of annoyance from Carla. Once the stars had cleared from his vision, Mateo saw that his spell had hit a part of the bridge and thrown up large pieces of debris and dust into the air, which had evidently rained down on Carla and left small cuts on her face.

"What a good idea," Victor praised as Carla just growled, shooting a spell that Mateo successfully blocked.

Victor, however, began to break off large parts of the bridge with his tamborita and then hurtled them at Mateo, who was forced to dive sideways to avoid the large pieces of stone. Carla quickly picked up on her father's strategy and soon began to do the same thing, which left Mateo evading and deflecting debris in a terrifying game of life-or-death dodgeball.

In a few short minutes he began to grow exhausted and tried to hurtle the same pieces back at the Delgado's themselves, which began to work—at least, until two of the pieces collided in midair, raining down shards of rubble on the three of them. Mateo felt a particularly sharp piece scrape along his left cheek, and then suddenly blistering agony began crawling up his face, momentarily displacing the constant throbbing of his arm. A strangled cry escaped his lips, and Mateo almost dropped his tamborita as he reached up a hand to the agonizing wound, feeling the unmistakable sensation of blood oozing out from beneath his fingers.

His untimely injury was all the Delgado's needed.

" _Mogato!_ " Carla shouted once more, and Mateo was sent spiraling backward again, his tamborita flying out of his hand and over the edge of the bridge. He landed on his back and heard his head snap against the stone beneath him, black spots floating in front of his eyes as he struggled to breathe.

"How pitiful, just like Elena." Carla's voice sounded far away, yet he knew she was nearer than he thought. Mateo struggled to sit up, to defend himself, but was rendered motionless despite his most valiant efforts, and then suddenly he was floating. He was weightless, and the sky seemed to be spinning, but then he felt Carla's cool breath against his ear as she whispered gleefully, "Bye-bye Mateo," and he realized with a jolt what was happening.

" _No_ …" he croaked feebly, but then the enchantment on him was released, and he was falling—falling off the side of the bridge and down into the murky river depths below Avalor.

He thought he heard someone scream his name, but maybe it was just his throbbing head, or the wind whistling in his ears as he continued his descent.

 _I'm so sorry,_ he thought remorsefully, to the villagers, his friends, Elena, and all the people who had placed their hope in him. _I'm so sorry I've failed you._

The harsh sting of the river's impact on his body was the last thing he felt before his vision was obscured by water and his mind was shrouded with darkness.

* * *

It was the pain that revived him. He didn't know how long he'd been drifting endlessly in and out of consciousness—it could've been days, weeks, or months for all he knew—but then the searing agony returned, as though his whole body was being prodded with flaming hot iron rods. At first the pain started out dully, and would eventually fade as his mind succumbed to the darkness around him again. But every time it came back stronger and more fervently, until he found he could no longer escape into the peaceful nothingness harbored deep in the recesses of his mind, and that the only way to rid himself of the continuous torture was to face it head on.

His eyes fluttered open and were immediately scalded by the sun shinning down from above. He waited a moment before attempting to open them again, instead gathering his thoughts to piece together everything he remembered. His first thought was that everything hurt; his head, his arm, his face, his back, his legs—everything. His second thought was more of a recollection, as he remembered someone pushing him over something and falling—falling a long, _long_ way down.

 _The Delgado's._

The name popped into his mind without preamble, but immediately afterwards the memories began returning quicker, and Mateo began to remember all that he'd endured. Shuriki's attack, Elena's death, the duel, _his_ death.

Only he realized now that he wasn't dead—at least, not yet. Somehow he'd survived, yet he was still debating on whether that was a good thing or not.

Mateo squinted his eyes open again, this time prepared for the brightness waiting to greet him. He took in his surroundings and saw trees overhead to his right, and heard the river rippling somewhere by his feet, but the bridge in Avalor was nowhere in sight.

He gingerly lifted his throbbing head and saw that he had washed up on a river bank somewhere, his clothes torn and rumpled from his unconscious journey.

After a few minutes he was able to move his unbroken arm and tentatively brought it to his face, feeling the large gash along his left cheek. Dried blood coated the wound, but even though it was clotted Mateo could tell it was deep, and his face still throbbed when his fingers lightly brushed against it.

He gently assessed the rest of his injuries as best as he could, but found he still couldn't gather enough strength to move anything besides his head and one arm.

 _This isn't good,_ he thought grimly, already weary from the small movements he made. He may be alive, but unless he could move and find help, he wouldn't be for much longer.

 _But do I even_ want _to live?_ Thinking the existential question wasn't as shocking as it would've been three days ago. He had lost everything; his home, his best friend, his kingdom, his honor, his worth—he couldn't even defeat the Delgado's, never mind Shuriki! There was nothing left for him anymore. If he were to return to Avalor, he would just be humiliated and defeated again, and then probably die for real. Everyone already thought he was dead—why should he even try to survive? What difference would it make?

He wanted to blame the sun shinning in his eyes for the sudden tears streaming down his cheeks, but knew it was no use. He was hurt, he was miserable, and he was alone; he didn't have the strength to fight anymore.

 _Dying's not so bad, right?_ he thought despondently, watching the clouds drift aimlessly overhead. _Maybe I'll get to finally meet my abuelo, and see my father again._ He swallowed heavily as his eyes drifted close, his breathing becoming shallower. _And I'll be with Elena…_

A smile graced his lips as he let himself be pulled back into the darkness once more.

* * *

Everything was hazy, and for a second Mateo wondered if he was blind. Then shapes began to take form within the strange wall of mist, and he saw Isabel and Gabe, chained in shackles while Shuriki stood before them, grinning wickedly.

"Please…" Isabel was crying, tears streaking down her cheeks as she pleaded with the witch. "Don't hurt anyone, I promise I'll work harder!"

"You've missed your chance," Shuriki hissed, taking obvious pleasure in Isabel's anguish. "You've brought this upon yourself."

"No!" Isabel protested, desperately fighting against her bonds.

"Silence!" screamed Shuriki, aiming her wand at Gabe. "Now you'll see what happens to little girls who think they can outsmart me." She raised her wand with a flourish. " _Vidisima!"_

The mist around Mateo turned green, and Isabel's screams faded into nothing as another scene was set before him. He was now standing in the middle of town square, which was completely empty. Everywhere he looked was deserted, and all the houses and shops that were normally bustling with people now lay deadly silent—a ghost town. Thunder rumbled from the sky above, and the waves crashed angrily against the seaport. Mateo shivered, his stomach turning as he looked to the palace high on the hill. At first it seemed as though the lights were on inside, but then the closer Mateo looked he realized the palace was actually on fire, and was quickly spreading to the whole town.

With a startled yelp Mateo turned and ran, but then the mist shifted again, and he found himself in a large field, a place unrecognizable to him. The field was full of flowers of every color and size, and for the first time in several days, Mateo felt peaceful. He sat down in the midst of the flowers, content to sit there and let the sun soak into his skin, but then he saw a figure bounding toward him—a figure that Mateo could recognize almost anywhere.

"Elena!" he cried, his heart full as he watched the princess running to him, her long, chocolate hair fanning out behind her like a banner in the wind. He jumped up and met her in the middle, delighted laughter spilling from his lips as he wrapped his arms around her, drinking in her sweet scent and relishing the feel of her warm, solid, _real_ body in his arms.

"You're—you're here!" he exclaimed, leaning back to meet her eyes. His joyfulness soon faded though, as he remembered the reason for their reuniting. "I'm so sorry," he whispered, taking her hand and clutching it in his own. "I let everyone down, and there's no way I can save them."

Elena quirked an eyebrow at him, pulling on his hand so that they were both sitting in the beautiful field. "You can still help Avalor, Mateo. I believe you can," she protested, her unwavering faith in him shinning in her eyes.

"It's kind of hard to help people when you're dead," Mateo joked feebly, wondering how she could forget.

Elena's expression grew troubled. "You're not dead, Mateo," she informed him, frowning.

Mateo frowned as well. "What? No, I was really hurt, and I died on the riverbank…right?" His tone became uncertain when Elena gave him a sad smile.

"No, you're still on the is just your dream." She squeezed his hand comfortingly, her expression one of pity.

Mateo couldn't help but feel a prickle of disappointment. He supposed it made sense, given the other scenes he'd seen before this one, but he was hoping that maybe he could just stay with Elena, where there was no pain or fear or grief anywhere.

He sighed and hung his head, despair beginning to overtake him again. "But how can I save Avalor, Elena?" he asked earnestly. "I'm completely incapacitated right now—I literally can't move—and there's no way I can defeat the Delgado's, much less Shuriki. Don't you see I'm better off dead?"

"How can you even say that?" Elena demanded, her tone reproachful. "Didn't you just see what would happen to Avalor if you don't help?"

Mateo looked up, his eyes wide. "You mean Isa and Gabe, and Avalor becoming a wasteland…all of that will happen?"

Elena nodded gravely, but then shrugged. "Maybe not exactly, seeing as this is just a dream and not a prophecy, but it's a very real possibility. All of those people left behind in Avalor, they need hope, and you give that to them. You're the only person who can stand up to those tyrants now, and the people believe in you."

"But why?" Mateo objected in confusion. "Why do they believe in me? _How_ can they, after I just failed!"

"But you didn't fail," Elena pointed out proudly. "You survived and will live to fight another day."

Mateo let out a frustrated sigh. "But that still doesn't explain why they think I can save them. I'm not cut out to be a hero—I've been completely terrified out of my mind these last few days, and I honestly had no idea what I was doing half the time," he admitted contritely.

"Mateo." Elena's voice was stern and her eyes were hard and determined. "Look at me. You think I wasn't terrified that time I faced Shuriki two years ago, or any other time I came upon danger these past few years? _Everyone_ is terrified at one point or another, but that doesn't mean we're any less brave." She reached up to brush a stray hair away from his face, her eyes endearing. "You are brave, because you chose to return to danger time and time again to save other's rather than run away and save yourself. You chose to willingly fight the Delgado's so that Avalor could have a chance at a future without their oppression. You've given up _everything_ for this kingdom and its citizens, so don't you tell me you aren't "cut out to be a hero," because you already _are_ one, ever since that day you rescued me from the amulet." Elena smiled at him, squeezing his hand gently. "And the reason everyone in Avalor believes in you? It's because _I_ believe in you. I know that you can save Avalor, and you can right all the wrong that has been done to our beautiful kingdom. But don't be afraid to ask for help—make allies, study magic, prepare yourself—because then you truly _will_ be unstoppable, and undoubtedly succeed."

Mateo swallowed, overwhelmed and flattered by her praise. "You really think I can help restore Avalor?" he asked.

Elena rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "How many times have I told you Mateo? Have confidence in yourself, and soon you'll discover that you really _can_ do anything you put your mind to."

Mateo took a deep breath, and then nodded, his heart lighter than he'd thought possible. "I'll do it," he promised sincerely, his eyes locked on hers. "Somehow, I'll find a way. I won't let you down."

"I know," Elena whispered in return, her eyes shining. She then glanced behind her and reluctantly stood. "I have to go," she informed him, regret evident on her face.

Mateo blinked in surprise and quickly scrambled to his feet, gripping her hand tightly. "Wait, already? Why?"

Elena smiled wryly at him, despite the single tear rolling down her cheek. "You're about to wake up." She began to pull away again, and Mateo held onto her hand tighter, wanting to prolong her departure as long as he could.

"Will—will I ever see you again? Is this really goodbye?" Mateo could feel the tears threatening to spill out over his cheeks as well.

Elena paused and turned to him, taking his face in her hands. "I have faith that we will see each other again, one day." She then leaned forward and gently pressed her lips against his forehead, her kiss sending waves of warmth throughout his body. " _Buena suerte, mi querido amigo,_ " she whispered softly, and then she was gone.

* * *

Mateo awoke with a start, pain engulfing him once again. The sky was still bright, but the sun wasn't directly overhead anymore, signaling that it was much later in the afternoon than when he'd gone to sleep.

He wished he could continue to lay still and recall every last detail about Elena, thankful that he finally got to give her a proper farewell, even if it was in just a dream, but then he recalled the promise he made and began to stir despite his body's protest.

 _I need to move, get help, something!_ he thought adamantly, and tried to sit up. His back objected, stiff and bruised from his countless tumbles, yet Mateo gritted his teeth and pushed through, gasping as spots began to dance before his eyes at the unbearable agony. And then suddenly he was upright, and the pain faded to a dull throbbing felt throughout his whole body.

 _Slow but steady,_ he reminded himself, attempting to stand next. The feat proved to be much harder than he anticipated, but after several tries and deep breaths, he was able to stand—albeit shakily—on his two feet. He noticed that by some miracle, his knapsack had survived the fall and washed up next to him on the riverbank. He managed to grab both it and a long branch to use as a walking stick as he slowly hobbled towards the woods beside him, needing to find someplace or someone that would help him.

 _I can do this, I can do this, stay strong, be confident,_ he kept repeating to himself, a mantra constantly replaying in his mind. Even though the promise he made was only to the dream version of Elena, he felt as though it was exactly what the real Elena would've said and wanted had she been there instead, and he couldn't afford to let her down.

Mateo wasn't sure how long he was walking for, but when the sky grew dark and he could no longer see his feet before him, he had to stop and rest. He sank to the ground, utterly exhausted from his trek, and knew he should sleep so that his body could try to heal, but he was terrified that if he closed his eyes, he'd never open them again.

As the woods grew darker and Mateo grew drowsier, he wished more than ever that he still had his tamborita with him. Then he could just float himself above all the roots and loose rocks that were hindering his journey through the forest, and not have to worry about being attacked by anything, or any _body,_ for that matter.

No sooner had the thought crossed his mind when he heard the unmistakable sound of a twig snap, followed by the slight rustling of the bushes before him. All drowsiness gone, Mateo tensed, his body frozen while his eyes tried to desperately discern the cause of the sound in the darkness.

 _Just my luck—to have survived Shuriki, the Delgado's, and falling off a bridge just to get mauled by some wild animal,_ he thought bitterly, despite the furious pounding of his heart. His fear only increased when he heard the sound of voices whispering, hidden behind a clump of bushes before him.

 _The Delgado's are coming for me! They must've realized I'm not dead somehow, and now—_

His string of panicky thoughts faded as he began to hear bits and pieces of the conversation.

"…and you're sure this is the right way, Luis? Dad told us to stay near the river."

"I've done more exploring in these woods than you have, _tonto._ Leave the navigating up to me and _cállate!_ "

The voice was oddly familiar to Mateo, and he wracked his brain to conjure up a face to match the voice and name. _Luis, Luis, Luis,_ he repeated several times before the pieces finally clicked.

 _Luis Herrero!_ The boy was three years older than Mateo and had gone to the same school as he did, but was a regular troublemaker, always engaging in fights and rebelling against the school instructors. He was brash, immature, and rude, and Mateo never had the need or desire to speak with him.

But as of now, he would gladly take the Herrero boy over the Delgado's any day.

As the two boys grew nearer, Mateo sat up straighter and tried to call to them. "Help," he croaked, his voice dry and cracked due to lack of water and disuse.

The rustling in the bushes stopped abruptly, and then the shrubs slowly parted as a small boy peered through them. The boy's eyes met Mateo's and he yelped, falling backwards and letting the curtain of leaves separate them again.

"T-there's…there's a g-guy—" the boy spluttered loudly before the bushes were harshly brushed aside again, revealing an irritated Luis Herrero before he caught sight of Mateo. Even in the dark Mateo's eyes could make out the expression of shock on the older boy's face.

"Hey," whispered Mateo weakly, using the tree trunk he'd been leaning against to help him stand.

"You're—how—Mateo de Alva?" Luis managed to say in disbelief. "But…we saw you fall! Down in the village, we saw you fall over the bridge!"

Mateo nodded, gripping his walking stick with all his strength to keep from toppling over. "I didn't die though." He smiled wryly, wincing as the action tugged the gash on his cheek.

"You're the Royal Wizard?" the smaller boy piped up, his initial fear having vanished. "Cool!"

"Santiago, _callaté!"_ Luis snapped harshly before turning back to Mateo, his eyes appraising his disorderly appearance. "What are you doing out here?"

 _Just taking a scenic stroll out in the moonlight, obviously,_ Mateo thought as he refrained from rolling his eyes."I'm in trouble," he said instead. "Can you help me?"

"Why do you need our help?" demanded Luis, keeping a large space between himself and Mateo. "Can't you just like, use magic or something?"

Before Mateo could say a word, Santiago answered for him. "Because he clearly doesn't have his tamborita! And just look at him, Luis! He needs medical help—it's a miracle he survived!"

Luis glared at his brother before turning back to scrutinize Mateo. "Why don't you just go back to Avalor for help?" he questioned skeptically.

Mateo would've tried to shake some sense into the older boy if he could, reminded once again why he never associated with him during their time at school together. "Because if I go back to Avalor, I'll get killed. I need to go somewhere to heal and prepare before I return to face Shuriki and the Delgado's again. So can you help me, _please_?" He couldn't believe Luis was still contemplating whether to help him or not.

"Of course!" Santiago agreed eagerly, moving to Mateo's side to help support him. "You can travel with us. We're escaping from Avalor to go stay with our _tío_ Ignacioin Dezvega. Our parents will hopefully catch up once the purge has ended, but they wanted us out and safe beforehand."

Mateo frowned in concern. "The…purge?"

Santiago mirrored his frown. "Shuriki's trying to eliminate all of princess Elena's supporters, and she's fortified Avalor so that no one can get in or out until she's proved where everyone's loyalty lies." He gulped, his eyes now wide in apprehension. "Me and Luis barely escaped. I'm just scared for all of the people who weren't as lucky as us."

"But we're not out of the clear yet," Luis interrupted, turning and continuing on further into the forest. "C'mon, we'll take you to Dezvega. But if we get caught, Santiago and I are dumping you to run. I made a promise to my parents that we'd be safe, and associating with you is anything _but_ safe."

"I made a promise too, that I would do whatever it takes to save Avalor," Mateo informed, setting aside his growing frustration. "So, thank you for helping me."

Luis just shrugged indifferently and turned to walk away.

"Don't worry about my brother," Santiago whispered a few moments later. "He's always grumpy, even more so when he's scared, but we'll help you no matter what."

Mateo offered the boy a grateful smile. "Thank you. How far away is Dezvega, anyway?"

"About a day's journey on foot. It's a little mining town, right outside the Avaloran border," Santiago explained, helping Mateo over a large root buried in the ground.

Mateo gave a small nod, grateful that the trip wasn't any longer than a day. He wasn't sure how long Santiago could support him—the boy was a head shorter than Mateo, and nearly half his size.

By the time the sun began to rise over the mountains and through the trees, Mateo had grown so weak Santiago was practically carrying him across his shoulders. Every second was a struggle to keep his eyes open and every breath he took stung his lungs.

"Luis, we have to hurry! Mateo's not going to make it," he heard Santiago fret at one point during their journey. An indiscernible argument went between the two brothers, and then Mateo felt himself being thrown over Luis's shoulder, the action jarring his aching bones. They traveled much faster after that, the trees and countryside blurring together into a giant green mural. They stopped a few times to eat the small portions of food the Herrero brothers had brought on their journey, but Mateo could barely force it down his throat; everything was unappetizing to him.

It wasn't until late the next evening that Mateo faintly heard Santiago exclaim, "We've made it!"

He tried to shift from Luis's shoulder to see their destination, but the action required energy Mateo no longer had, so he simply closed his eyes, breathing a ragged breath of relief. Hopefully there was someone in the town that could help him.

Footsteps approached Mateo and the Herrero brothers, and a quick exchange was made. Mateo strained his ears to focus on the words being said, but all the strenuous activity from the past day combined with the relief that he had finally made it out of Avalor dulled Mateo senses, and his eyes drifted close as he fell into an inevitable sleep.

* * *

 _ **A/N 2: Having Mateo black out or fall asleep always seems like an appropriate place to end a chapter xD The final part will be posted in a few days!**_


	6. A Time for Preparation

**_A/N: Here it is, the last part of the insanely huge back story I created! Also on a side note, it has been one whole year since I officially joined this fandom, and I'm pretty sure it was one of the best decisions of my life. I have had so much fun this past year being a part of the EoA community, and can't wait for many more to come! Thank you all again so much! Read and enjoy xD_**

* * *

When Mateo awoke he found himself lying on a cot in a small house, the curtains drawn to block out the sun. Santiago was waiting eagerly beside him when he opened his eyes, and as soon as he realized Mateo was awake he swiftly explained how he was in the local doctor's house, receiving the medical treatment he needed.

Mateo had never had a need to visit a doctor before in Avalor, and was intrigued by the interior of the small room. Different utensils and potions lay neatly organized on shelves lining the walls, and lots of medicinal books lay open on the desk to Mateo's right.

He lifted up a hand to lightly brush the large bandage wrapped tightly around his head, and noticed his right arm was secured in a cloth sling that hung from his neck.

"How long will it take me to heal?" he immediately inquired, already itching to return back to Avalor.

Santiago shifted in his seat, avoiding Mateo's eyes. "Well, the doctor said you had a lot of damage to your ribs and lungs, plus your head got pretty banged up too. I think he said it was anywhere between…three to four months." He winced, flashing Mateo an apologetic expression.

Mateo knew he should be thankful that the damage to his body wasn't irreparable and could heal over time, but his heart sank all the same. How was he supposed to help Avalor lying comatose in a bed for three or more months?

"Hey Mateo…since you're going to be in Dezvega for a while, I was wondering…" Santiago began, once again not meeting his eyes, "if you could—I mean only if you want to or are up to it—um…" He swallowed almost nervously. "Could you teach me magic?" he finally whispered anxiously.

His large, pleading yet hopeful brown eyes reminded Mateo of his apprentice Olivia, and how she used to give him similar expressions back in Avalor. A pang of worry struck his chest as he thought of the young girl, and he hoped she and her family had somehow avoided the purge.

"I'd love to," Mateo replied earnestly, watching the boy's eyes glow with excitement, "but I'm afraid I don't even have a tamborita, much less an extra one for you."

Santiago seemed to deflate like a balloon. "Oh yeah, I forgot," he mumbled glumly.

Mateo hated disappointing him, especially after he had saved his life, but a tamborita was an unfortunately pivotal part of learning or even teaching magic—at least to his knowledge.

"What if I was able to find one? Or make one?" Santiago suggested, his enthusiasm renewed. "Someone has to make them, so it probably shouldn't be too hard, right?"

Mateo frowned, unsure. "All the tamboritas I've ever used or had were left behind by my grandfather, so I'm not sure." He raised his head a few inches off his pillow and winced, but was able to spot his knapsack in the corner of the room. "Can you grab the large book labeled _The Codex Maru_ out of my bag? It may say something about tamboritas."

Santiago readily complied and brought the book over to Mateo, hovering anxiously as Mateo used his good hand to flip through the pages. Eventually he found a brief paragraph that described the inner workings of a tamborita and how they're constructed.

"It says here we need a special type of crystal called _celtriade,_ and once we have that we have to mix it with a carefully concocted potion that will give it it's magical properties. Then we just find a handle, some durable material, and put the crystal inside. Or, we can always use dark magic to create them, just like Shuriki apparently did for the Delgado's, but I'd rather not chance it." He laughed at the horrified expression on Santiago's face as the boy quickly nodded, agreeing with Mateo.

"My _tío_ owns one of the mines here in Dezvega, maybe he's seen some of this crystal stuff we need." Before Mateo could respond, Santiago had jumped up and ran out the door, hollering for his uncle at the top of his lungs.

When the boy returned shortly, he excitedly informed Mateo that his uncle had surprisingly heard of the _celtraide_ crystal, and even had some himself, though it was a very rare mineral. What was even more surprising was that Santiago's uncle was willing to let them have some, despite it's scarcity.

Together the two of them began working on the project right away, both appreciating the excitement and complexity that the challenge brought. The following weeks were spent creating and perfecting the tamboritas, and seeing as they still had some leftover _celtriade_ , Mateo decided to try an experiment of his own. Using the supple, light material they had used to cover their drum wands, Mateo created a pair of red gloves that reached his elbows, grinning as the idea further formed and solidified in his mind.

"What are you even making?" Santiago questioned several times, but Mateo would just wink and tell him to wait and be amazed.

When he finally finished setting three small pieces of the crystal into the back of each glove, he tried them on, satisfied with his work.

"Now watch this," he instructed Santiago, who was watching him curiously. He pointed his hands at the book lying on the desk across the room and clapped once, saying " _Levaluq!_ " The vibration of his hands clapping together mimicked the action of hitting a tamborita, and the stones on his gloved knuckles glowed briefly in response before the book began hovering in the air, moving whichever direction Mateo moved his hands.

"It's like a tamborita on your hands!" Santiago cried, deeply awed. "What are you going to call them?"

Mateo set the book back down on the table and studied his invention proudly while deep in thought. "I think I'll call them _guantivas_ ," he finally decided.

"So cool!" Santiago fawned over the ruby red gloves. "You'll definitely take the Delgado's on surprise with those!"

Mateo smiled and only hoped the boy's words would be true.

In the following weeks Mateo began instructing Santiago on all the magic he knew, teaching the younger boy several basic spells and the importance of practice and patience. He studied himself too, but the more he read through his limited amount of spell books the more he began to realize that they would never be able to fully prepare him for his inevitable rematch with the Delgado's. Even _The Codex Maru_ was proving to be frustratingly unhelpful due to the fact it was written completely in Maruvian, and Mateo didn't think to bring any of his Maruvian translator scripts to decipher what he couldn't already read.

 _If only I had_ all _of my material from my workshop,_ he thought in frustration after he'd finished pouring over one of his books for the fifth time. The only skill he was able to improve in the months he spent healing was his ability to cast nonverbal spells, which he soon began to excel at.

By the time he was completely healed, almost three and a half months after he arrived at Dezvega, Mateo was torn. He was unsure whether he should take his chances and return to Avalor to fight, or try to find a way to prepare himself further before ultimately returning to face his rivals.

Fate made the decision for him when the Herrero's uncle, Ignacio, told them about a neighboring town that had just been delivered a notice from Avalor.

"My friend from Medali just told me this, and I think you ought to know too," he told Mateo gravely one night, a mixture of disgust and trepidation present on his face. "Apparently Shuriki and the Delgado's have been 'covering up' the whole usurping the royal throne thing, and they sent out an official announcement to Medali yesterday, saying that princess Elena and her family tragically drowned in a boating accident."

Mateo scowled, his blood boiling. "A boatingaccident? They _murdered_ Elena and cast out her entire family!"

"It gets worse," Ignacio informed with a sympathetic grimace. "The notice also announced that the three of them are second cousins of the Castillo Flores family, and they have _graciously_ stepped up to help Avalor in their time of need."

"And do people believe that?" Santiago asked in disbelief as Mateo continued to silently stew.

"Apparently they do—my friend did until I told him the truth. If no one really knows the injustice that happened in Avalor, they won't stand up and try to fix it."

"Someone has to tell them though!" Santiago cried, wringing his hands together in worry. "People need to know that Avalor is in danger, and that we need allies to help get rid of Shuriki!"

 _Allies!_ The word reverberated in Mateo's head, and he was reminded of his dream with Elena on the riverbank several months ago. " _Don't be afraid to ask for help,"_ she had said. " _Make allies, study magic, prepare yourself—because then you truly will be unstoppable, and undoubtedly succeed."_

Mateo suddenly knew what he needed to do. "I'll go tell them," he volunteered, earning puzzled stares from the others in the room. "I'll go to all the towns that received this notice and tell them the truth. I can help Avalor gain allies, so that when the day comes to finally challenge Shuriki and the Delgado's, we can succeed!"

Ignacio scratched his chin in thought. "Well, it's dangerous, but it might work," he conceded with a shrug.

Santiago was much less enthused. "But does that mean…you'd have to leave?" His large brown eyes were downcast as he spoke.

Mateo nodded hesitantly, hating to disappoint the young boy who had grown to be a close friend.

"But you can still learn magic on your own," Mateo encouraged him. "I'll even leave you my books so you can study."

"I guess," Santiago replied gloomily, "but it won't be the same without you."

"How about we write to each other?" Mateo suggested. "I'll tell you what town I'm in and where I'm headed to next, so that you can return the letters, and we can talk back and forth like that."

Santiago seemed to brighten at the idea. "That would be cool. But what if someone on Shuriki's side intercepts our letters and finds out what you're doing?"

Before Mateo could come up with a suggestion Santiago answered himself. "Oh, we can write in invisible ink, and then use our tamboritas to reveal the message! And then we can use code names just in case—we'll be like spies, it'll be so fun!"

Mateo laughed at the boy's enthusiasm, thankful that he wasn't as dismayed as he'd been moments ago. "Alright, so what should our names be?"

Santiago screwed up his face in concentration. "You can be… _La Sombra,_ because you're going to be secretly traveling to all the towns and be hiding from Shuriki and be all mysterious like, and I'll be _La Luz,_ because I'm exactly the opposite, and that way… you'll always remember that you can find light and happiness here in Dezvega."

Mateo found himself touched by the boy's strangely affectionate ending to his explanation and smiled in agreement. "Sounds like a plan."

A few short days later Mateo found himself on his way, heading out to Medali with the hopes of spreading the truth and gaining allies to help him. He had left behind his traditional wizarding robes with Santiago, instead borrowing a simple black cloak from Ignacio to be more discreet while traveling, which proved to be undoubtedly useful, for he soon discovered that the task was much more difficult than he'd previously thought. To inconspicuously try to get people to believe his word over Shuriki's cunning lie was challenging, but after a while Mateo was able to perfect a technique that allowed him to quietly spread the truth, lest he raise unwanted attention. By approaching only a few people at a time and sharing his story, word was then passed around to other trusted members of the community, and after a while a small group began to form, full of people who promised to aid Avalor when the time came. Sometimes it took months for Mateo to complete his task, but every time he left one village and headed to another, he was confident that his newfound friends and allies would come through when he needed them too.

He traveled to every town Avalor had sent the false notice to, and throughout his journeys he gathered more knowledge on magic and wizardry as well. He was able to collect old spell books and various enchanted objects that several towns had in their libraries or storage rooms, collecting dust from disuse. He even met a few wizards during his travels, who each taught him a few new spells or new innovative ways to advance his wizardry.

For three and a half years he was a nomad, visiting a total of thirteen villages on the outskirts of Avalor and gaining more knowledge, experience, and allies than he ever thought possible. Though it wasn't until he came upon his last town, a little seaside village called Cantone, that he discovered his task was already complete.

When he first arrived he'd cautiously approached a few people, asking if they knew what had happened in Avalor, as he always did. To his surprise, the people answered with the truth, that Shuriki had killed Elena and taken over again.

"How did you come to know that?" he inquired, shocked. Hardly anyone seemed to know what truly transpired.

"There's a big assembly down by the docks that's always trying to convince people to raid Avalor and take back the throne. The only problem is that everyone knows they'll fail and people don't want to be part of a massacre, so their efforts are pointless really," one man told him with a shrug, as though it was no big deal. "If you talk to them though, just beware—they're a bit _passionate_ , if you know what I mean, and they'll probably suck you right in."

Mateo thanked the man for his information and hurried to the docks, curiosity fueling his weary limbs after a long day's travel. As he approached the harbor he saw a young man securing a ship to the dock, the sun glinting off of his caramel hair. Mateo immediately called to him, knowing the man could tell him something about the assembly he'd heard about.

"Hello," Mateo greeted cheerfully. "I heard that there was a group of people down by the docks who knew a lot about Avalor—are you one of them?"

The man straightened up with a smile, eagerness lighting up his round blue eyes. "Sure am. I'm Eli Melek, one of the sailors here in Cantone." He stuck out a bronze hand for Mateo to shake. "And what's your name?"

"Call me _Sombra,_ " Mateo told him, shaking the hand Eli offered. He'd been introducing himself as either _La Sombra_ or just _Sombra_ ever since Santiago suggested he use it as his pen name, just as a way to protect his identity until he was sure he could trust whoever he was conversing with.

Eli raised an eyebrow at the unusual title but didn't say anything further. "So, what do you want to know about Avalor? How it became so corrupt? How to save it?"

"Actually, I want to know how _you_ know all the truth about Avalor. Weren't official Avaloran notices sent out here a few years ago, explaining what supposedly happened?"

Eli nodded, watching Mateo curiously. "Yeah, we got them alright, but one of my friends and her family are actual escapees from Avalor and told us all the truth, and my family immediately believed them and decided we had to help." He paused and squinted at Mateo. "Do I know you? You look familiar…"

Mateo frowned and shook his head, having never seen Eli before in his life. "No, I don't think so. Maybe—"

" _Eli_!" a frustrated voice shouted from inside the ship they were standing next to. Mateo turned to glance at the large sea vessel and froze, the appearance of it alarmingly familiar. _It almost looks like—_

"Out here, Naomi!" Eli called back, his lips pulling up in a smirk.

Mateo's eyes were wide as he suddenly gripped Eli's arm, his heart pounding with both excitement and disbelief. "Naomi? As in, Naomi Turner?"

"Uh, yeah," Eli hesitated, startled. "You, uh, know her?"

Mateo heard footsteps on the ship and turned to look above him, and was met with a view of none other than Naomi Turner. She had changed a bit in the four years since he'd seen her; her hair was longer and tied back in a thick braid that reached halfway down her back, and her trademark blue vest and skirt had been swapped for pants and a loose blouse that only seemed to accentuate her sea blue eyes even more than before.

"I swear Eli, if you try to pull one more prank on me while I'm aboard this ship—" she began sternly, jumping down from the ship deck onto the dock, and then faltered when she caught sight of Mateo.

A large grin split Mateo's face, and he couldn't help the tears of delight that gathered in the corner of his eyes as he exclaimed, "Naomi—you're alive!"

For so long he had no knowledge of what happened to her after the whole invisibility fiasco, and could never find anyone who knew, either. It had taken him a while, but he eventually just had to accept that she was dead.

Except he now realized she wasn't.

He wasn't sure who moved first, but in a matter of seconds he found himself hugging her tightly, tears of relief and disbelief rolling freely down his cheeks.

"How—what—Mateo, is it really you?" Naomi whispered, disentangling herself from his arms and staring at him in incredulousness. "You look awful!" she commented joyfully, her eyes shining with unshed tears. She reached up a hand to brush his long, tousled hair that was now almost to his shoulders, and gasped in horror as she saw the long, jagged pink scar that ran down the entirety of the left side of his face. "Everyone said you had died, so I didn't bother searching anymore. What happened?"

"So, you guys _do_ know each other," Eli interrupted, scrutinizing Mateo with an unreadable expression.

"Right, sorry Eli. This is Mateo—one of my best friends from Avalor," Naomi hastily explained, still beaming. "And Mateo, this is Eli, my—uh, well, Eli." Mateo noticed the faint blush that appeared on her cheeks and smiled, amused.

"Oh, I remember you now!" Eli announced, snapping his fingers in realization. "I've seen Naomi's picture of you with her, Elena and Gabe. It's hanging in the kitchen of her ship." He then frowned at Mateo. "Why did you tell me your name was _Sombra_?"

"Let's go inside," Naomi suggested, pulling each of them by the hand toward her ship. "I have a feeling we have a _lot_ of catching up to do."

Once indoors both Mateo and Naomi explained their stories. Mateo explained the fight on the bridge, his several near-death experiences, and how he recovered in Dezvega before setting out to help gather allies and received the reputation of _La Sombra._ Naomi in turn explained how she had returned to his workshop when the invisibility potion had worn off, as they had agreed, but then was seen by a group of guards and chased out of the palace. Unable to sneak back in, she went back to her parent's ship and discovered that they were thankfully alive, but shortly after word spread about Mateo's infamous battle with the Delgado's and how he died, and Naomi was crushed. Then Shuriki began The Purge, so her and her parents took their ship and escaped to Cantone, where her mom knew the Melek family and a few other sailors who were willing to give them refuge. They had stayed there ever since, trying to build up a resistance that would be willing to help Avalor defeat the tyrants on the throne, but with little success. Everyone in Cantone was sympathetic to their cause, but too scared to actually stand up to one of the most powerful sorceresses of all time. When Mateo told them about his work gathering supporters in the other neighboring towns, both Naomi and Eli were elated.

"Now we can finally win!" Naomi exclaimed, but Mateo was still slightly hesitant. He wanted to make sure the odds weren't completely stacked against them before he asked all of his friends to risk their lives for a kingdom that wasn't even theirs.

"Since you guys have already got everything covered here in Cantone, I was thinking I might just return to Avalor and begin to build up a secret resistance there. I can also try and gage just how powerful Shuriki and the Delgado's are now, and know whether the time is right to strike," he explained to them, although the idea still left him unsettled. It had been four years since he'd even stepped foot in Avalor; he was nervous to find out what happened to all of his friends and family and whether things were still as bad as they were.

"Do you think you're ready? Should we come with you?" Naomi asked keenly.

Mateo immediately shook his head. "Being inconspicuous is key, and a I've had lots of practice traveling alone." He gave her a feeble smile. "But I'll call you as soon as the time is right."

"We can be discreet," Naomi protested, the old defiant streak Mateo remembered in her making a reappearance.

Mateo gave her an apologetic glance. "I know I sound pretty aloof, but I really do think it's better for me to go it alone, at least initially. You've built a life for yourself here Naomi," he added as a gentle reminder. "Don't take it for granted, and don't be so willing to throw it all away." It took a few more minutes of convincing before Naomi finally agreed, albeit grudgingly.

"I just wish I could be there to see everyone's face when they realize you aren't dead," she stated, throwing him an amused smirk. "Just imagine all the chaos."

"Actually, I don't think I'm going to reveal who I am just yet," Mateo admitted. "Gabe and Isabel are still working in the palace the last I heard, and I'm afraid if I expose myself and threaten to take back Avalor, Shuriki may use Isa and Gabe's lives to blackmail me into standing down, and then we'd never be able to seize Avalor like we've been planning."

"He has a point," Eli agreed, nodding in comprehension.

Naomi sighed, giving Mateo a look of mock exasperation. "Fine, fine, so you're right again. I guess it's a good thing that one of us plans ahead." She stared at her hands for a moment before she hesitantly asked, "So when do you have to leave?"

Mateo shrugged, unsure. "Soon, I suppose. I don't have an exact date, seeing as I was planning on staying here for a few months before I realized you guys have already accomplished my task."

"Can you stay for a little bit then?" Naomi implored quietly. "It's been so long since I've seen any of my friends from Avalor—I missed you a lot, along with Elena, and Gabe, and even Esteban." She smiled sadly, her eyes betraying the grief she evidently still felt. "And I thought you were dead for so long, so to see you here now…it's a miracle, really."

Mateo reached out to give her hand a reassuring squeeze. "I'll stay as long as you need me to," he promised sincerely, his heart lifting at the grateful smile she flashed him in return.

He ended up staying for almost three weeks before he finally began the journey back to Avalor. He made sure to send a letter to Santiago explaining his decision, and then bid goodbye to Naomi, Eli, and the rest of their friends and family with the promise to keep them updated on his observations as often as he could.

"I'll send for your help as soon as I'm certain we can win," he assured, and then boarded one of the boats headed to Avalor, hiding in the cargo bay to remain undetected by the officials that apparently searched every ship before allowing them into the kingdom. Once inside Avalor he was able to blend in fairly well; he kept his dark cloak pulled tight around him and kept his head down, deterring any unwanted attention, but soon came to discover Avalor was far from the kingdom he remembered it to be.

It looked eerily similar to how it was before the fire raged through half the town, yet all the businesses and homes that Mateo remembered were now owned and lived in by different people, as though the entire community he remembered had been replaced. Green and black flags now adorned all the public structures, and the palace had an ominous feel resounding from it, even though Mateo knew it was structurally still the same.

He didn't see any sign of Shuriki or the Delgado's, and didn't dare ask anyone about them without a disguise to mask his appearance, lest anyone somehow recognize him. After his first day wandering the streets of Avalor, unbidden memories resurfacing to the front of his mind, he bought a new cloak from a street vendor and successfully enchanted it to give him the appearance of another man—a man who's appearance Mateo strongly derived from Eli. With his newfound concealment he was able to question people more openly about the nature of Avalor's current rulers, and not have to worry about being recognized for who he truly was.

In the span of a few weeks with the help of several more enchanted cloaks—for safety's sake—Mateo began to gather what sporadic information he could on Shuriki and the Delgado's. Apparently they were strict rulers with strict policies and punishments, yet were hardly ever seen. It was only once every few months all three of them would venture out into public on a carriage, and when they finally did, Mateo was shocked at their appearances. Carla and Victor looked the part of the mighty, wealthy rulers; they both wore long green and black robes embroidered with silver stitching and adorned with sparkling jewels, yet Shuriki just looked… _sick_. She still wore the same fancy robes as the other two, yet there were large dark circles under her eyes, and her skin was nearly transparent. Mateo could see how thin and frail she was just by looking at her sunken, sallow face, and more than once she dissolved into a coughing fit before being discreetly blocked from view. He quickly concluded that there was something very, very wrong with her.

It was only a week after he'd seen the three of them riding a carriage through Avalor that the Delgado's came out into the town square to make a formal announcement: Shuriki was dead.

Had Mateo not seen her just a few days prior he wouldn't have believed it; Shuriki was practically indestructible with her magic, yet she had looked so sick and weak, he supposed she could've succumbed to an uncurable disease of some sort. But then the very next day he awoke to find all the green and black flags replaced with yellow, red, and black ones, all evidence of Shuriki erased, and he knew that natural causes hadn't been the reason for Shuriki's demise. He was pretty sure everyone else in Avalor came to the same conclusion that the Delgado's had no doubt weakened Shuriki and then killed her, yet the unspoken truth was deliberately ignored for safety's sake.

Mateo had falsely hoped to believe that with Shuriki gone, the Delgado's would lessen the severe rules and regulations that had been laid over the kingdom, but they only seemed to increase them. Victor and Carla had only grown more corrupt over time, and it wasn't until Mateo saw some guards about to arrest a vendor for not closing up his stand five minutes after the markets official closing time that he finally snapped.

Pulling his normal, unenchanted black cloak low over his eyes, he approached the guards, using the newfound height he'd gained over the years to tower over them.

"Is it really necessary," he began, his voice cold, "to arrest this man for simply closing his stand a few minutes late?"

Both the vendor and the guards stared up at him in confusion. "And who are you? Show your face, _señor_ ," one of the guards commanded.

Mateo simply pulled the hood lower over his face, still able to see clearly through the fabric covering his eyes. "Does it matter? These rules you have are ridiculous. This man has done nothing wrong—let him go."

The vendor completely forgotten, the two guards both drew their swords, pointing them at Mateo menacingly. "Questioning the rules is against the law. Come with us, _señor_."

"Are you kidding me?" Mateo mumbled in disbelief, before holding up his hands in a placating gesture. When one of the guards attempted to grab his arm, Mateo took a step back, putting himself out of his reach, and then with a clap of his hands the guard's swords crumpled and shattered like glass.

Both of the guards stared at him with a mix of shock and horrification. "Magic's against the law, too," one of them finally managed to stammer, trying to fixate a stern look at Mateo and failing miserably.

"Why? So no one can stand up to the Delgado's and steal the throne, just like they did to the Castillo Flores's?" Mateo retorted in irritation. He barely noticed the large crowd of bystanders gathering around them.

"You obey the rules," the other guard quietly hissed, "so that everyone doesn't get killed, got it? Now come with us, you're making a scene."

The guard made a grab for Mateo again, but Mateo had been anticipating the action. With a flick of his hand the two guards became paralyzed and fell to the ground, unable to move.

"But it doesn't have to be this way," Mateo told the motionless guards, ignoring the fury in their eyes. "We can help, and Avalor can be a great kingdom again, without rulers who use the threat of death to keep everyone in line, don't you see?"

He heard someone whoop in agreement and turned in surprise, shocked to see so many people watching his confrontation with the guards. This wasn't supposed to be happening; he wasn't trying to make a scene and capture the whole attention of Avalor—he was trying to lay low and build up a resistance. Yet as he saw the looks of hope and relief evident on people's faces as they realized that someone was willing to stand up and fight for them, he decided that maybe just this once, being conspicuous was the way to go.

His revelation was short lived, however, as he heard gasps from the crowd and watched them all immediately disperse. Confused, he turned to see what had caused their panicky retreat and saw the Delgado's gracefully riding up the path in their carriage, and felt his own panic settle in.

 _You can do this, you're ready,_ he encouraged himself, clenching his fists inside his _guantivas_ nervously. He closed his eyes for a moment and imagined Elena standing beside him, her warm hand resting reassuringly on his shoulder as she stood on her toes to whisper to him, _Be confident, mi querido amigo._ He let out a deep breath and pulled his hood lower until it was covering the entirety of his face, and then flexed his fingers—he was ready.

"What's happening out here? We heard that there was some commotion." Victor's voice was sharp, slicing through the air and demanding a response.

"This man's a sorcerer!" one of the guards quickly replied, still immobile on the ground.

"Haven't you heard?" Carla scoffed, stepping out of the carriage wearing long, elegant red robes. She was older and more stunning than Mateo remembered, but there was a hungry gleam in her eyes that confirmed she was still the same deceitful, tyrannical girl that had murdered Elena. "Magic is forbidden in Avalor, so either you leave, or we'll ensure that you never use magic again."

"And what's with the hood?" Victor demanded, stepping out of the carriage to join his daughter. "Who are you?"

Mateo stepped forward, holding out his hands in preparation. "My name is _La Sombra_ , and I'm here to save Avalor." Before either of the two malvagos could blink, Mateo clapped his hands and sent them both spiraling backwards, tumbling to the ground ungracefully.

They quickly got to their feet and unsheathed their tamboritas, fighting back, and Mateo quickly discovered that they were equally matched. He couldn't quite defeat both Victor and Carla and get them to surrender, but they weren't beating him, either, and the realization that his skill level was twice that of theirs heartened him.

Their volley went on for quite some time before Mateo began to grow weary, and he suspected the Delgado's were tired too based on their haphazard moves and enchantments. He eventually threw up a shield to protect himself as he caught his breath, and decided that it was best to exit with the promises to return for another fight rather than be killed right off the bat.

"This is only the beginning," Mateo announced to them in what he hoped was an authoritative voice. "Don't think this fight for Avalor's freedom is over yet." As soon as he finished speaking, he quickly conjured up a screen of smoke to surround both him and the Delgado's, and then quietly slipped away in the midst of the confusion.

He ran to his hideaway deep in the forest and collapsed in exhaustion, yet was more invigorated than he had felt in years. He finally had his rematch with the Delgado's and _survived,_ plus he had restored a small semblance of hope back to the people of Avalor.

 _Maybe I should call all of my friends and have them come help me finish off the Delgados once and for all,_ he thought with a sudden burst of exhilaration, but then stopped to think about the implications of the idea. In all of the fourteen villages he'd traveled to, he had made just a little under two hundred friends who were willing to aid Avalor in their fight, yet he knew that there was about an equal number of royal guards as well. Even if all of his allies showed up to help him, the trained palace guards could wipe most of them out without any help from the Delgado's, and if the Delgado's were to face them, all it would take is one spell and then—

Mateo grimaced, his elation slowly fading. The odds were still against them, and for the time being he would wait. He could handle the Delgado's himself while he slowly began gathering allies in the heart of Avalor.

With a long sigh Mateo leaned back against a tree, his mind buzzing with everything he needed to do to prepare himself for the long struggle ahead, and as he closed his eyes and listened to the distant sounds of the bustling city, he knew that it was only the beginning of many more challenges to come.

* * *

"After that first fight I laid low for a bit, trying to meet people I knew I could trust. I quickly found Miguel, who had moved to Avalor just recently to try and help, and then soon I met more people like Emilio and a few others, yet I kept my identity a secret to all but a few, so that they would be safe. It was actually Miguel who suggested I enchant the medallion to be a voice modifier, to keep my identity a better secret. Apparently, I sounded too familiar," Mateo continued to explain as Elena listened, completely enraptured at his words. "I soon remembered the secret room Naomi and I had found all those years ago—this room, actually—and used one of my enchanted cloak disguises to sneak into the palace as a servant and was able to get back here. I eventually built the passageways leading from here to the docks and the forest too, so that I wouldn't have to sneak around the palace every time I wanted in or out, which was helpful because all those old spell and potions books have really helped me with my magic and enchantments. Unfortunately, the Delgado's have also been studying hard ever since my arrival too, but I think I'm finally starting to exceed them." He paused for a moment to look at Elena, his eyes questioning, as though wondering how she was processing his story.

Elena was still trying to sort out her feelings herself. "Mateo…," she began softly after a long moment. "I can't believe everything you went through." Her eyes strayed to the pink scar on his face as her heart ached for all the pain he'd endured. "You're truly the savior of Avalor."

He gave her a small grin. "Thanks, but I'm not really. I haven't exactly saved Avalor yet, but now with you here, the odds are finally in our favor." He stood from his chair, his grin now a full smile of enthusiasm. "But of course, none of that really matters if we can send you back in time to fix all of his." His smile faded slightly. "I will miss all the people I've met though."

Elena felt uneasy. Could she really go back and erase ten years of history? It wasn't all terrible memories for everyone—what if she seriously messed up people's families and relationships? Would Emilio and Laura have their two daughters? Would Naomi and Eli ever meet? From what she understood in Mateo's story, they seemed to be fairly close.

She was just about to ask Mateo about Naomi and how she was now when a sudden banging was heard on the large wooden door to the oval room, followed by panicked shouts from none other than Miguel. Elena stood in alarm as Mateo clapped his hands, the door flying open in response.

"What is it? What's happened?" Mateo immediately asked, rushing over to steady Miguel as the man caught his breath.

"Someone must've seen something," he began between pants. "And reported it to the Delgado's."

"What do you mean? What's 'something'?" Elena hurriedly inquired, twisting her fingers anxiously.

"You and Emilio," Miguel informed, his eyes wide in terror. "Someone must've seen you this morning, because the Delgado's—I _know_ it was them, they must've ordered it—"

"Just tell us what happened," Mateo instructed kindly despite the apprehension clearly written across his face.

"It's the Alatorre's," Miguel finally disclosed. "Their house is completely on fire!"

* * *

 _ **A/N 2: Sorry about the cliffhanger (not really) but the next chapter will probably take me a little longer to write, so I won't be posting every other day anymore. Anyway, thanks again for all the reviews and encouragement!**_


	7. A Time for Action

**_A/N: And I'm back! Thanks again everyone for the reviews and the kind messages you send me - I can't help but smile everytime I read them :)_**

* * *

 _This is all my fault,_ Elena thought in horror as Mateo immediately sprang into action, clapping his hands together and enchanting two cloaks to fly into his outstretched arms. _I'm the reason this happened to Emilio's family._

She had no more time to wallow in guilt as Mateo shoved a dark blue cloak in her face, extinguishing all the torches in the room with a snap of his fingers. "Wear this," he instructed hurriedly, shrugging on his own cloak as he spoke. As soon as the material was wrapped snuggly around his frame, Elena's mouth fell open in shock as she watched Mateo transform right before her eyes. His hair was no longer brown and unruly but red and close-cropped, and he shrunk nearly four inches as his skin became a pasty white, dotted with orange freckles. Round green eyes met hers as he explained, "These are the enchanted cloaks I was telling you about. Put that one on and let's go." Elena was surprised to hear that his voice was still the same, and came to conclude that the cloaks only altered a person's outward appearance.

She quickly wrapped the dark material across her shoulders and felt a small tingle rush through her body before it stopped, and looked down to see dark, calloused hands protruding from her sleeves.

"Weird," she muttered, running her enchanted hands over the contours of her foreign, angular face, but had no time to stop and examine her whole appearance as Mateo took off down the dark corridor, Miguel huffing and puffing as he raced after him. Elena shut the door to the large stone room before sprinting to catch up with the two boys.

"Were all the Alatorre's outside when you got there?" Mateo questioned anxiously. "How big was the fire?"

"When Emilio and I first got there…" Miguel panted, "the fire had already consumed almost half the house. He immediately told me…to go get help…so I came to you. I don't know about Laura or the two girls."

Mateo nodded grimly, worry evident on his face even in the murky darkness of the tunnel. "I'm going to go on ahead—you can catch up to me later," he informed the two of them before surprising Elena and sprinting away even faster than before.

"You go too…" Miguel told Elena, stumbling to a stop and bending over in exhaustion. "I already used up all my energy…running here."

"Are you sure?" she asked hesitantly. Miguel gave her a feeble nod and made a shooing motion with his hands, signaling for her to go. "Okay…see you soon," Elena said, and then turned to race after Mateo. He was certainly much faster than he was ten years ago, and Elena couldn't help but wonder if it was because he had so much practice running away from the Delgado's and everyone else trying to capture him.

She eventually made it out of the tunnel and instantly caught sight of a glowing orange light in the distance, and her heart sank as she realized it must be the fire.

With renewed energy, she raced through the remainder of the forest, just about to break through the barrier of bushes between the forest and the town when she was suddenly rendered physically motionless, completely incapable of moving. Elena blinked in surprise and tried to struggle against her immobility, but found herself literally frozen to the spot, powerless against whatever force was holding her back.

 _Did I run right into a trap?_ she fretted. _Did the Delgado's set it to keep people from escaping into the forest after dark?_

As her mind raced with possibilities, a sudden hand clamped over her mouth, effectively silencing any scream or noise she could make.

"Elena, it's me," someone hissed in her ear, and she found herself immediately relaxing as she realized the voice belonged to Mateo. "I'm releasing the spell, just stay quiet."

A moment later Elena regained control of her limbs and breathed a large sigh of relief. "Why in the world did you do that?" she chastised quietly, following him as he snuck along the row of trees back to the spot he was previously standing in.

"There's a group of guards just beyond those bushes. I didn't want you to jump right out on top of them and have to explain why you were rushing around in the woods at night," he softly explained. "Plus, I can help the most from here." He positioned himself between a small gap in the trees and stretched out his arms, mumbling words under his breath as he moved his hands around, looking as though he was trying to steer an out of control carriage.

Elena shifted so that she could look at what he was doing, and saw that he was slowly diminishing the flames consuming the Alatorre's house using small, inconspicuous spells that would go unnoticed by the mass of townspeople that had gathered around the burning building.

"Is there any way I can help?" Elena asked anxiously, feeling useless just hovering by his side.

"In a minute we'll sneak down into the village and help everyone the non-magical way, but I just need to get the fire under control first." Mateo's eyes blazed with a fire of their own as he stared hard at the flames, his face a blend of determination and concentration as he wrestled the inferno with all the magic he could conjure. After a few tense minutes Elena watched as he slowly dropped his hands, releasing a breath of satisfaction. "The fire's dwindling now. All it'll take is a bit of water and it should die down completely."

Elena peered through the gap in the trees and saw that the flames had almost completely vanished. "Wow," she breathed, amazed at the power her friend now possessed.

"C'mon, let's go see if the Alatorre's are okay," Mateo suggested, offering her a hand. Elena took it and let him lead the way to a spot that wasn't patrolled by guards, where they slipped out of the trees into the town, quickly blending into the growing mass of people.

"Oh, by the way, in these disguises I'm Hugo and you're Pedro, and if anyone talks to us let me do the talking, because your voice doesn't sound the same as mine when I'm Pedro," Mateo quickly informed as they made their way through the crowd.

Elena nodded, sticking close to Mateo's, or "Hugo's," side as they joined the bucket brigade, passing large pails of water from one person to another in order to extinguish the last of the flames. When the fire had completely died out, Mateo approached the Alatorre family, who were all huddled together and covered head to toe in soot.

"Is everyone alright?" he inquired in a crisp voice, complete with a foreign accent Elena had never heard before. If she hadn't seen Mateo physically turn into the man before her, she would have never guessed that they were the same person.

Emilio looked up at Mateo and nodded, his face wrought with weariness. "Yes, we're fine now, but we lost almost all of our belongings in the fire," he admitted despondently.

"Everything we had left after the guards ransacked our place, that is," Laura grumbled bitterly from beside him, hugging their two girls close to her.

"What do you mean?" Mateo gently pressed. Elena inched closer, wanting to hear Laura's response as well.

"Well, right before our house _spontaneously_ caught on fire," Laura began with noticeable sarcasm, "a group of royal guards knocked on the door, saying they had received a tip from an anonymous person that we were harboring a rebel that posed a threat to the safety of Avalor. It's against the law to turn them away, and we had nothing to hide, of course," Laura quickly added, "so I let them search the house for "evidence"of our treachery, and they claimed they had to confiscate anything suspicious. They ended up completely destroying our house and taking several of our personal belongings, including some things that belonged to…a friend of ours." She cast a nearly imperceptible glance at Emilio, and Elena's heart thudded to a stop as she realized what Laura could possibly be alluding to.

"Is the watch gone?" she blurted before she could stop herself, and then cringed, realizing "Pedro" shouldn't have any knowledge of the watch at all, and that a very high, feminine voice coming out of a large, masculine man would surely arouse suspicion.

Sure enough, the whole Alatorre family glanced at her in confusion, apprehension, and concern. "Watch? Did I say something about a watch? All I know is that a lot of things were taken," Laura babbled distractedly, brushing aside Elena's question, yet Elena could see the older woman's eyes were full of uneasiness.

"What's wrong with your voice?" Marianita, the oldest of the two girls, asked, staring at Elena with curiosity.

"Mari, don't be impolite," Laura immediately chided, flashing Elena an apologetic smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Do you have a place to stay?" Mateo asked, swiftly directing the family's attention away from Elena.

"Yes, we had some people offer to let us stay at their place until we can find a new one," Emilio responded stiffly, no longer as open and trusting to the two of them as he'd been at the beginning of the conversation. "My other friend Miguel will be staying with us too," he added, casting a look back into the forest behind him.

 _He'll be here soon,_ Elena wanted to say in reassurance, but held her tongue, having already caused enough trouble for the night.

"Well, it's good to hear that you're all okay. If you ever need help, don't hesitate to call," Mateo offered as he slowly turned away, giving the family some space.

"Sure. Thanks," Emilio replied warily, wrapping a protective arm around his wife as he glanced at the rubble that used to be his home.

Elena and Mateo snuck away and out of the main crowd, wandering down the back alleys of Avalor and cautiously slipping back into the forest.

"I'm so sorry," Elena immediately apologized once they were out of earshot of any of the townspeople. "I did the one thing you asked me not to, but when she said something belonging to a friend of theirs was taken, I immediately thought of the watch and had to ask, but it didn't even do any good because my question wasn't even answered, and—"

"Elena," Mateo interrupted, placing his hands on her shoulders in an attempt to calm her. "It's fine, don't worry about it. I'll just explain everything to Emilio later, seeing as he already knows my biggest secret, and then we can ask him about the watch too."

Elena bit her lip in uncertainty. "Are you sure I didn't completely compromise your identity?"

"I promise you didn't," Mateo assured, his eyes crinkling with silent laughter. "Emilio and Laura will probably just think we're either prophetic villagers or else spies for the Delgado's until I explain, and I guarantee they won't tell anyone about us. Emilio's been attending my secret meetings for a while now, and I know his family's trustworthy, which is why I feel no hesitation in telling them the truth, hopefully sooner rather than later."

Elena hadn't known the Alatorre's for as long as Mateo had, but agreed with his statement, still tremendously grateful for the help they offered her earlier. "How many other people know your secret?" she couldn't help but wonder a moment later.

"As of right now, there are seven people in Avalor who know who I am under my disguise—Gabe, Isabel, Olivia, Santiago, Miguel, Emilio, and you." He shot her an elated smile. "Of course, that's only in Avalor. There are several people all over the continent who know my story and my identity, but I don't have to be as careful with them seeing as they're nowhere near the danger that Avalor presents."

Elena nodded in understanding, but then pointed out, "You said Santiago, but in your story he was in Dezvega. Did he move here?"

"Yeah, I guess I never mentioned, it but he did, around three years ago. He was seventeen at the time and wanted to help me, so he left his home and came here, and has been part of the Avaloran resistance ever since."

"And you said Olivia—as in the little girl who was your apprentice? That Olivia?" Elena asked, remembering how she was always so eager to learn.

Mateo nodded, smiling proudly. "Yep, the one and the same, only she's not so little anymore. She's about your age now." His grin faltered for a moment and he turned away, a shadow passing over his formerly cheerful countenance.

"Are you okay?" Elena reached out and placed her hand on his arm in concern.

Mateo gave her a quick smile and shrugged off her worries. "Yeah, sorry, I'm fine. I just think a lot about Olivia and Santiago and all of the other kids who had to grow up these past ten years in a desolate, oppressed Avalor, and then think about all the kids in my generation and the generation before that who had to do the same and…" he heaved a large sigh. "I hope we can change the future Elena, so that no one has to endure anything like this anymore," he expressed earnestly, shaking his head at the injustice of it all.

Elena slipped her hand down his arm to intertwine their fingers. "And we will, in one way or another," she promised. "Even if the watch is gone—although I _really_ hope it's not—we'll still find a way to defeat the Delgado's, I know it."

They had stopped walking and now stood facing each other, hand in hand. "Thank you, Elena," Mateo finally whispered sincerely. "For so long I had to always pretend that you were beside me, offering me encouragement like this whenever I was discouraged or down. It's really nice to not have to pretend anymore." He smiled at her endearingly, and then laughed, dropping her hands as amusement shone in his eyes.

"What?" Elena asked curiously, wondering what could've brought on his sudden change in demeanor.

"I'm sorry, it's just so strange to hear your voice coming out of Pedro's mouth, or just seeing him up and walking around in general." He chuckled, using a hand to gesture to her enchanted disguise. "I'm used to only seeing him in the mirror."

Elena rolled her eyes, fighting off the exasperated smirk tugging at her lips. "I guess I can say the same for you. How many of these disguising cloak things do you have?"

"Four. Hugo is the one I wear the most, but I often alternate between him, Pedro, and Antonio whenever I go into town, just so that people don't get too suspicious as to why I keep asking strange questions about the Delgado's or the town gossip," Mateo answered, ticking them off on his fingers as he continued to explain. "Then the last one is Daniel, and I only wear his disguise whenever I sneak into the palace."

"Do you sneak into the palace often?" Elena asked, coming to a stop as they reached the large tree trunk that concealed that tunnel entrance.

Mateo quickly looked around them before stepping inside the tree, gesturing for Elena to follow him through the magical illusion. "Occasionally, mainly just to visit Isabel and Gabe, but it can risky. The Delgado's don't mess around when it comes to securing their positions on the throne, and they have tons of security and spies lurking around the palace, waiting to catch anyone that seems suspicious or out of place." He leapt down the large hole leading down into the secret tunnel, waiting until Elena hopped down as well before he continued speaking. "I normally only visit them every few months, and we have a whole system worked out so that it's relatively safe for everyone involved." He clapped his hands together to produce a light for them to walk by as they continued on their way.

"Can I see them? Are they okay?" Elena pressed, yearning to see her little sister again.

Mateo hesitated just a bit too long for her liking. "Yeah, of course. They'll both be ecstatic to see you."

"Are you _sure_ they're okay?" Elena repeated anxiously, watching as Mateo shrugged off his cloak and returned to his normal self again.

Mateo nodded earnestly, draping the enchanted cloth across his arm. "Yes, they're fine, they've just…been through a lot of stuff, like we all have. They might not be exactly the same as you remember."

Elena frowned in concern, taking off her cloak as well. She had just opened her mouth to ask for more details when Miguel suddenly rounded the corner, nearly plowing right into them.

"Oh, princess Elena, _La Sombra,_ you're back already? Is Emilio okay? And Laura and the girls?" Miguel immediately questioned, his eyes wide with fear for his friends.

Mateo put a reassuring hand on his friend's shoulder. "They're okay," he promised, and Miguel closed his eyes in relief, releasing a large breath.

" _Gracias a Dios,_ " he mumbled, wiping away the nervous perspiration that had gathered on his brow. "Where did they say they were staying? Do they even _have_ a place to stay?"

"Yes, they were staying with some friends and said that you were welcome to stay too, but they didn't exactly disclose where," Mateo admitted, throwing an amused glance at Elena. "They became rather suspicious of us so we decided it would be best to leave."

Miguel bobbed his head in understanding. "Alright, I'll find them then. What should I say about you two? Should I explain?"

"Sure, just do it discreetly if you're going to be staying with strangers," Mateo instructed carefully. "Also, I want to have a small gathering tomorrow—not with _everyone_ , just the insiders—so can you and Emilio meet at Santiago's house tomorrow morning, so we can clear up a few things?"

Nodding, Miguel promised them that he and Emilio would be there. He thanked them again and then gave a small wave, heading toward the tunnel exit they had just come from.

As soon as he disappeared, Elena turned back to Mateo, saying, "I assume by _insiders_ you mean all the people who know your secret."

Mateo flashed her a grin. "You're quick," he praised, to which Elena held her head high with feigned smugness.

"I'm just clever like that," she smirked playfully, earning an amused chuckle from Mateo before she dropped the act, continuing their walk back to his secret lair. "But I'm curious, what are gatherings like with _everyone_?"

By the time they eventually made it to the large stone room, Elena had learned all about Mateo and his secret assemblies with the citizens of Avalor. Apparently every few months or so, Mateo would stealthily leave cryptic messages for a few random members of his resistance to find, and then it was their job decipher the message and spread the word to everyone else in the rebellion about where and when the meeting would be. When the time eventually came, Mateo would first appear in disguise as either Hugo, Pedro, or Antonio, and then once he made sure the coast was clear and no guards had somehow been tipped off and wormed their way into the secret gathering, he would unnoticeably slip away and then return as _La Sombra._ Elena quickly gathered that most of the secret meetings revolved around ways to slowly and inconspicuously gather more recruits, although a few times Mateo said he would use the gatherings as an opportunity to warn the people about new laws or patrols the Delgado's were issuing, relaying the information Gabe and Isabel had furtively gathered from their time at the palace, or else just use the assembly as a platform to spread hope to people.

"The meetings are honestly not that exciting, it's just a lot of debating about whether _this_ person should be inducted and whether or not _that_ person is trustworthy enough, and so on so forth," Mateo admitted, opening the large wooden door for Elena and following in after her. "I think people just get really excited about the secrecy of it all, plus that fact that we're rebelling against the Delgado's."

"Aren't you worried that someone untrustworthy will find out about all of this?" Elena couldn't help but question in alarm.

Mateo shook his head unconcernedly, clapping his hands to ignite the torches around the room again. "Most people in the resistance care too much about the cause to sell everyone out. Besides, we're all a community, and in one way or another we're family, too." He took Elena's cloak from her arms and hung them up with his other disguises. "But…I also investigate a bit after each meeting, just on all the new people who show up," he admitted bashfully, reaching up a hand to rub the back of his neck. "For everyone's safety, y'know."

Elena nodded in understanding, her lips quirking upward at the familiar gesture. "And how many people have you gathered so far?"

"The first year after I returned to Avalor I had three, but now there's thirty, so I feel like we're doing pretty good," he stated, visibly pleased. "And at every meeting more people show up, so before long I think we'll have ourselves a real rebellion on our hands."

"And you'll be their fearless leader." Elena smirked as she flopped down into a nearby chair. Never in her life would she have imagined Mateo de Alva—her sweet, sensible, goofy, slightly insecure best friend—to one day be leading a mass revolt against their hometown. But then again, she reminded herself, she _had_ time traveled to the future, so she supposed anything was possible.

Mateo chuckled at her previous comment and shook his head in slight incredulity. "I didn't exactly plan for it to happen this way, it just…did." He shrugged indifferently. "But if it's the only way to restore Avalor again, I'll do it."

"And I'll help you," Elena promised sincerely, although she was still holding on to the hope that the watch hadn't been taken by the guards. She shuddered at the thought that Carla or Victor might have it at that very moment.

"You're probably tired—it's been a long day," Mateo said, rescuing her from her unpleasant thoughts. He clapped and summoned an extra blanket from a nearby shelf. "You can use my bed if you want. I don't really sleep."

Elena was already shaking her head before he finished his sentence. "I actually woke up only a few hours ago. I slept all day at the Alatorre's house, so I'm not really tired," she confessed. "And what do you mean you don't sleep? Isn't that a bit unhealthy?" She raised an eyebrow in admonition.

"Yeah, it probably is," he admitted casually, rubbing his hand along his chin as though the thought just occurred to him. "But I meant I don't sleep for long periods of time. I usually just doze randomly throughout the day, which is all that I need to function, but I appreciate your concern." He tossed the blanket aside on a nearby table. "So, if you're going to stay up with me—until one of us falls asleep, that is—want to help me plan out the best travel routes from here to Vilo?"

"Where?" Elena got up to see the map he was gesturing at, as Mateo quickly explained that it was a nearby city he traveled to during his time as a nomad. He told her that he was charting the easiest, fastest routes from the cities to Avalor so that when the time came, his allies could arrive quickly to provide support.

For most of the night, Elena helped Mateo study several maps and find different passages through various valleys and mountains in an attempt to locate the fastest route. She soon discovered that despite her circumstances and all the unfamiliarity surrounding her, she could almost pretend that Mateo was still ten years younger and that they were just messing around in his workshop in the palace, innocent and carefree, without having to worry about the fate of Avalor's imminent future resting on their shoulders. But then she'd look up and see the giant torches lining the stone walls or the long, jagged scar running down Mateo's face, and knew it could never be the same, no matter how much she tried to pretend it was.

At some point during the night Elena remembered sitting down, just to close her eyes for a minute, and then found herself being shaken awake by Mateo several hours later.

"Sorry to wake you, but I don't think you want to miss out on the meeting," Mateo apologized as Elena snapped her head up, blinking her eyes blearily.

"I fell asleep?" she asked in surprise, stretching her arms as she stood. "I didn't think I was _that_ tired."

"You've been through a lot of stress lately," Mateo reasoned, grabbing cloaks for the both of them. "Your body's still trying to recuperate after everything that's happened." He handed her the Pedro robe again with a sympathetic smile.

Elena took the material from his hands and shrugged it on, slightly miffed that her weariness caused her to fall asleep on the job. "Did we at least finish planning out the route? I can't remember."

Mateo nodded, trying to hide his amusement at her exasperation and failing considerably. "Yes, we did," he assured, to which Elena nodded contentedly in response.

They took the tunnel to the docks instead of the forest this time, since Santiago's house was apparently located near the port. The secret passageway let out of the side of a mountain onto a small, sandy cove right at the edge of the sea, with the docks right around the corner. They followed a narrow footpath that led them up to the harbor and then headed straight to a small house right outside the Vía Mercado, trying to appear as unobtrusive as they possibly could.

"He better not still be asleep," Mateo mumbled disgruntledly as he rapped his knuckles against the door, waiting for a response. He was just about to knock again when the door suddenly flew open, revealing a tall, broad-shouldered man with unkempt brown hair sticking up in all directions.

"Oh hey," the man, who Elena quickly deduced as Santiago, greeted casually. "Miguel told me you'd be stopping by, but…" he trailed off, fixing Elena with an inquisitive stare. "Wait. Which one are you, Mateo?"

"Hugo," Mateo clarified, pushing past Santiago to usher Elena and himself inside before closing the door tightly.

Santiago caught on to Mateo's precautions and began closing all the curtains in the house, securing the inside from the eyes of random passersby. "So if you're Hugo, than who's Pedro? I know it's not Olivia because she wouldn't be caught dead in that disguise, and Miguel said he would be coming later with someone else."

"Miguel really didn't explain much, did he?" Mateo noted humorously, seemingly content now that the house was as safe and secure as it could be. "I'll explain once Olivia arrives, that way I don't have to tell the whole story twice."

Fortunately for the ever-inquisitive Santiago, Olivia arrived just a few short minutes later. As soon as she walked in, Elena could scarcely believe it was the same girl—the image of a small eight-year-old was still imprinted in her mind, yet Olivia was hardly a child now. She had blossomed into a beautiful young woman, and the only way Elena could tell it was still the same person was because of the large, round spectacles balanced on the bridge of Olivia's nose.

"Hello!" she greeted everyone, still as enthusiastic as ever. Like Santiago, her eyes were quickly drawn to Elena, to whom she frowned at in confusion. "Who's this?"

"Mateo's mystery friend," Santiago informed, eagerly staring at Mateo now. "Olivia's here, so you can explain, right?"

Mateo grinned, and asked for Elena to remove her disguise. She did as he instructed and flushed at the dramatic gasp that escaped Olivia's lips, while Santiago simply gaped in amazement.

"Is that—but it can't be—" he stammered, while Olivia mouthed, " _Princess_ _Elena_?" in complete astonishment.

"It is," Mateo affirmed, clearly enjoying his two pupil's flabbergasted expressions. "And she's come to help us, in one way or another." He shot Elena a grateful, yet anxious glance. They still wouldn't know the fate of her magical, time-traveling watch until Emilio and Miguel arrived.

Both Olivia and Santiago began immediately bombarding them with questions, and by working together, Mateo and Elena managed to explain her story and how the watch transported her to the future, all the while successfully answering the never-ending queries the two young wizards spouted. Santiago was just in the midst of asking Elena a complex question about whether she thought there was simply one main timeline in the universe or millions that were created by each decision ever made, when she was saved from answering by a loud knock on the front door.

Santiago quickly answered it, opening the door wider as Emilio and Miguel stepped inside. "We're not too late, I hope?" Miguel asked, smiling at all the occupants in the room, whereas Emilio glanced around warily, as though perpetually confused by everything surrounding him.

"You're perfectly on time," Mateo assured, finally stripping away his enchanted cloak and reverting back to his normal appearance. His eyes turned to Emilio as he asked, "Miguel explained the cloak disguises, right? Elena and I didn't mean to alarm you last night."

"Oh, uh, yeah, he did," he replied, shifting his weight from foot to foot. "Thank you, by the way, for putting out the fire. It probably would've destroyed more than it did if you hadn't helped," he said, glancing around the silent room awkwardly.

Mateo gave him a genuine smile in response. "Happy to help."

Once everyone was seated, Elena started out with the most pressing question. "Emilio, when we saw you yesterday Laura said something about the guards ransacking your house before it burned, and that a belonging to a friend had been stolen. It wasn't my necklace, was it?" Her palms were slicked with sweat as she awaited the man's answer. _Please say no, please say no, please say—_

"Yes," admitted Emilio, glaring at the floor dejectedly. "Laura told me afterwards that she tried to stop the guards from taking it, knowing that it was yours, but they threatened to take _her_ to the palace instead if she didn't let them do what they wanted."

Elena leaned back in her chair, a wave of disappointment crashing over her. She was hoping she could avoid the whole confrontation with the Delgado's and simply go back to the past, where everything was _normal_ and not life-threatening or heartbreaking, but it seemed as though fate had other plans in store.

"So, the Delgado's have the watch," Mateo restated, his grim expression most likely mirroring Elena's. "We'll just have to hope that Carla and Victor think it's junk, and don't try discover its purposes."

"Can we steal it back from them?" Santiago suggested, though he already looked doubtful.

Mateo shook his head, frowning in thought. "We have no idea where it is, let alone how to steal it secretly. I'll ask Gabe to keep an eye out for it, though."

"But if the watch is gone, what's Elena going to do? Just stay here in the future forever?" Olivia asked, casting an uncertain look at the princess.

"I'll stay and help," Elena answered determinedly. "We'll defeat the Delgado's, and then after that…" she trailed off, having no idea what she would actually do afterwards. "We'll see when the time comes," she finally finished, keeping her tone resolute despite her hesitation.

"With Elena here, we can finally call for aid from all our allies," Mateo added. "She's the beacon of hope Avalor has been waiting for so so long, and once they know she's alive, the Delgado's won't be able to stop our uprising, even with all the magic and royal guards they have on their side."

"We just have to make sure the Delgado's don't completely wipe out everyone in the resistance before the uprising can even start," Emilio said sullenly, clearly alluding to the ordeal his family just went through.

"Did anyone see the guards starting the fire, or do you think the Delgado's did it personally?" Santiago asked him apprehensively, glancing about his own house as though afraid it would combust into flames too.

"I'm not sure," Emilio admitted, his eyes glued to the floor. "By the time Miguel and I got there the house was already engulfed with flames, and if anyone saw something they didn't say anything, but how could they? There's no one to report it to except the Delgado's, and everyone knows they don't care because they're the ones behind these types of things!"

"Do you think someone recognized Elena? Is that why the Delgado's ordered it?" Olivia wondered, her voice soft in comparison to Emilio's frustrated tone.

"If the Delgado's knew of Elena, they'd be tearing apart all Avalor to find her," Mateo stated practically. "I bet they were planning this for a while, and Elena's presence just happened to be an uncanny coincidence. The guard patrol was stationed near the Alatorre's side of town last night, so I bet the Delgado's ordered their guards to search their house and then burn it as a warning and an attempt to keep Emilio in line."

Emilio rubbed his hands across his face wearily. "I knew I was on the Delgado's radar, but I wasn't careful enough, and now my house is nothing but rubble."

"This isn't your fault though," Miguel reminded his friend gently. "This is all the Delgado's doing, which only gives us an incentive to fight back even harder than before."

Mateo nodded solemnly at Miguel's words. "You're absolutely right, which is why the rebellion needs to start _now._ "

The room grew eerily silent as the significance of his statement became clear.

"Alright, so where do we start? What do you need us to do?" Olivia asked, her fingers twitching with uneasiness but determination flickering in her eyes.

Mateo seemed to have everything already planned out, just as if he'd been preparing for this day his whole life, which Elena quickly presumed he probably had—for the last several years, at least. He told everyone about how he'd been mapping out routes to all of the villages outside the Avaloran border, and had charted the fastest, most discreet ways his allies could enter the kingdom. He then explained the need to hold another gathering with the Avaloran resistance to notify them of the plan, and also inform them of Elena's arrival and miraculous survival.

By the end of Mateo's explanation, everyone perfectly understood his plan and began volunteering for the tasks that needed to be performed. Santiago offered to travel to Dezvega to spread the word and have his family reiterate it to other villages from there, whereas Miguel was to go to Cantone to deliver the message to Naomi and her resistance and have them send it on to other towns too. The two boys were to take all the routes Mateo had earlier mapped out with them as well, with the hopes that they could be sent out to all the villages along with Avalor's request for help.

Olivia and Mateo planned to inform the Avaloran resistance of another upcoming meeting, which meant hiding cryptic messages for random members of the rebellion to find, decipher, and spread to other affiliates.

Emilio was told to simply lay low for a while, just incase the Delgado's were still watching him and his family, and he happily obliged.

The only person left without a task was Elena.

"How can I help?" she demanded, unwilling to simply sit back and watch everyone else work.

"Don't worry, I have a job for you if you're willing to take it," Mateo told her quietly.

Elena tuned out all the other conversations in the room as she focused solely on Mateo. "I'm listening."

Mateo hesitated for a moment, as though uncertain of the idea himself, but eventually said, "I want you to sneak into the palace to find your sister and Gabe and inform them of our plan."

Whatever Elena had been expecting him to say, that certainly wasn't it. She blinked, her heart rate quickening. "Really? Do you think it's safe?"

Mateo gave her a small smile. "Probably not, which is why I totally understand if you don't want to—"

"Are you kidding? Of course I want to!" interjected Elena, her anticipation for the task already building. "Where will they be? How will I sneak in? What if they don't recognize me? Should—"

"Don't worry," Mateo interrupted her with a chuckle. "I have a plan."

"Of course you do." Elena smirked, unsurprised.

"So as I told you before, the tunnel from my lair to the palace leads right into the prison's guards office, which to this day remains to be just a storage room," Mateo began explaining, "but no one is allowed in the dungeons besides the Delgado's and the guards stationed at the entrance. Yet the guards rotate shifts every day, and every few months the schedule lines up so that two of Gabe's old friends are stationing the dungeons at night, and they let Gabe and Isabel enter the dungeons, no questions asked, as long as they don't cause a scene or release all the prisoners."

"So they're able to sneak into the old office and meet you without the worry of being caught and reported to the Delgado's," Elena speculated, catching on to his explanation.

Mateo nodded affirmatively. "Exactly. It works a lot better than what I used to do in the early years, which was try and sneak out of the dungeons and then subtly race all over the palace, trying to locate the two of them." He grimaced, shaking his head as to rid himself of the memories. "I had _way_ too many close calls."

Elena winced sympathetically at the thought. "So when is this special day?"

"Tonight, actually."

"What luck." Elena grinned, her heart aching to see Isabel again, and hug her and tell her how sorry she was for leaving and making them all mourn. It would be good to see Gabe again too, of course. She recalled what Mateo had told her earlier, about how the two of them were different than the people she remembered, and felt her elation slowly fade into concern. Just how much had they endured and changed?

"I'd go with you, but I'll be busy spreading messages about the next gathering with Olivia," Mateo continued. "And I know you've been wanting to see them, Isabel especially."

Elena nodded earnestly. "I'll be careful," she promised.

The small meeting was wrapped up and everyone began preparing for their respective duties. Both Miguel and Santiago accompanied Elena and Mateo back to Mateo's secret lair, where they gathered up all the mapped out routes and set out on their way, while Emilio went to help his family settle in to their temporary home. Olivia and Mateo were waiting until it grew dark to carry out their job, and Elena's task wasn't until that evening either, which meant her whole day was spent waiting impatiently for the sun to set.

After what felt like hours upon hours of lounging around Mateo's workshop, staring unblinkingly at the small, soundless clock on the stone wall, Olivia entered the room, declaring that it was time.

 _Finally._ Elena jumped up with enthusiasm, watching Mateo and Olivia work out the last few details of their plan.

"Elena," Mateo called once they had finished. He held out a red robe to her as she came forward. "This is my palace disguise. I think you should wear it, just in case by some unfortunate circumstance you're seen by anyone other than Gabe and Isabel."

Elena accepted the cloak and put it on, thankful for the extra protection. "You guys be careful," she instructed, watching as Olivia headed down the tunnel leading to the forest.

"You too." Mateo reached over to squeeze her shoulder, his face anxious, yet the confidence he had in her shone brightly in his hazel eyes. "Say 'hi' to them for me, okay?"

Elena reached up to cover his hand with her own. "Of course."

They both smiled, and then went their separate ways.

The tunnel leading to the palace was stone, and every step she took echoed off the walls and reverberated down the corridor. She gripped the torch she had brought with her tighter, focusing her mind on the task ahead and not on the eerie shadows the light was casting along the walls. After several minutes of half-walking, half-jogging, Elena finally arrived at the ladder that led up to the prison's guard office.

 _How will they react when they realize I'm still alive?_ she wondered, hoping they'd be as thrilled to see her as she would be to see them. _They'll both be so much older too,_ her thoughts continued as she opened the trap door and pushed aside a large rug covering the opening. _Since it's ten years later, that means Gabe will be thirty and Isa…twenty-two?!_ The realization that her little sister was now four years older than her disconcerted Elena, but she was excited all the same.

She climbed out of the hatch and looked about the dark room, quickly concluding she was the first one to arrive. Making sure her disguised cloak was still wrapped securely across her shoulders, Elena began examining the room, pleasantly surprised when she recognized old decorations and knickknacks lying about in storage. She spent several minutes reminiscing, wandering about the room and fingering old objects and paintings when the sound of approaching footsteps knocked her out of her reverie.

Unsure of whether it was her sister and Gabe or just some random palace guard, Elena quickly concealed herself behind a large tapestry hanging on the wall, a box of holiday ornaments effectively shielding her feet from view. She waited with bated breath as the footsteps stopped, and then the door to the room opened with a slow creak. The lights flickered on, and Elena froze, hardly breathing, but then slowly leaned forward, peering through the thick knitting of the tapestry to see who had entered the room.

Despite the yarn obscuring her vision, Elena could clearly make out two individuals—a man and a woman to be exact. The man was tall and muscular, his dark brown hair neatly combed back with slight stubble lining his chin, and the woman was graceful and slender, her shoulder length dark hair gathered at the nape of her neck, revealing her, large, beautiful eyes and stunning features.

"It looks like Mateo isn't here yet," the man noted, his tone deep and warm.

"Well then, we'll just have to keep ourselves busy until he comes," the woman suggested archly, her voice soft yet alluring.

Elena now had no doubt that it was Isabel and Gabe. Anticipation and apprehension coursed through her veins, and she needed a moment to gather her emotions and try not to fall apart before facing them. Once she was ready, she poked her head out from behind the tapestry, hoping that she wouldn't frighten them _too_ bad with her sudden appearance, but then stiffened, her jaw dropping at the sight her eyes beheld.

Not only did Isabel and Gabe look different and much older without the weaving interfering with her vision, but as of now they were also wrapped up in each other's arms—their lips locked in a passionate exchange.

Elena was certain her eyes were bugging out of her sockets. Both Isabel and Gabe remained oblivious, running their hands across each other's chests and backs, pressing fervent, lingering kisses into each other's skin, completely unaware of the spectacle they were providing Elena.

Her little sister and one of her best friends? Isabel and Gabe? _Together?!_ Her mind could barely comprehend the information.

 _Why didn't Mateo tell me about this beforehand?_ she thought indignantly, finally tearing her eyes away from the couple and forcing her feet to move. For once her body cooperated, but soon she found her world tilting sideways, and quickly realized she had tripped over the box of decorations at her feet. In a wild attempt to keep from falling, Elena reached out to grab the tapestry, but ended up accidently ripping it off the wall and on top of her as she crashed loudly to the floor.

 _Way to be graceful, Elena,_ she chided herself with a mental sigh as she heard Isabel squeak and Gabe gasp in surprise.

She struggled to free herself from all the material she was swaddled in, and when she finally managed to remove the tapestry from over her head she was greeted by none other than Gabe, who was brandishing an empty candelabra pointed threateningly at her face.

His defensive demeanor immediately subsided once he saw her. "Oh, sorry Mateo." He let his arm drop and held out his free hand to help her up. "What in the world were you doing? We didn't even see you come in."

"I was already here, actually—" Elena began, before grimacing as she remembered her voice didn't change with the disguise.

Gabe's candleholder was instantly aimed at her face again. "You're not Mateo—who are you?" he demanded assertively, his eyes narrowed and cold. Isabel was hovering anxiously by his shoulder, her face troubled.

Despite the situation, Elena couldn't help but feel overjoyed to see the two of them again, even though she was immensely confused by the nature of their relationship.

"Why are you smiling?" Gabe asked, pressing his weapon even closer to her face.

"Sorry, I'm just—I'm really happy to see you two," Elena admitted, her eyes lingering on Isabel's face.

"Gabe, wait." Isabel stepped closer and gently put her hand on Gabe's arm, disbelief and bewilderment clouding her thoughtful brown eyes. "Take off the disguise," she ordered breathlessly.

 _She recognizes my voice,_ Elena thought, her heart overflowing with happiness. She did as her sister instructed, slipping the robe over her head and dropping it to the floor, watching their expressions turn from suspicion to incredulity to complete and utter confusion.

The candelabra in Gabe's hand clattered to the floor as he stared in shock. "Elena?" he hesitantly asked.

Isabel walked closer, reaching out a hand to gently caress Elena's face. "How can this be?" she whispered, her eyes shining.

"It really is me," Elena promised, her own voice strained with emotion. "Mateo sent me to inform you of a plan we've created."

"But how are you alive?" Gabe questioned, coming up behind Isabel and gripping her hand tightly, as though she was his only anchor to reality.

Elena's gaze shifted to their interlocked fingers before she lifted her head to meet their stares of incomprehension. "I have a feeling we _all_ have a lot of explaining to do."

After Isabel and Gabe finally seemed to comprehend that Elena really _was_ real and not a spirit or figment of their imagination, they both hugged her tightly, completely overjoyed by the miracle of her survival. After their tearful reunions had been completed and the three of them sat down, Elena quickly told them her story, having perfected it from sharing it so often the last few days. She then explained to them Mateo's plan to start the rebellion, and how she was sent to inform them of it.

"So this is only your second day in the future?" Isabel asked, completely enraptured with the possibility of time travel and how the timestream functioned. "And the watch can send you back into the past, but the Delgado's have it now?"

"Yes, and unfortunately, yes," Elena responded, and answered all the other seemingly endless questions they had before they finally ran out of things to say, instead simply staring at her with incredulity.

"So, that's my story," Elena concluded before they could think of another question to throw at her. "Now I want to hear yours, especially the reason behind your… _romantic_ affiliation with each other." She fixed them with a stern stare, and then grinned when they both blushed.

"Well, it's been a long ten years," Gabe began, leaning back in his seat and scratching his face uncertainly. "This might take a while."

"I've got the time," Elena said.

It was silent for a moment before Isabel began to speak. "I guess the best place to start is the day Shuriki attacked—the day that changed our lives forever…"

* * *

 ** _A/N 2: PREPARE FOR THE GABABEL!_**


End file.
